Resurrection and Redemption
by tempestquill
Summary: He takes that single step, like it's a dance, and it goes over smooth, though he almost misses the ledge of the floor below. He makes a mad grab for it, because he really isn't ready to die...
1. ONE

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters belong to Rob Thomas.  
Author's Notes: So here is the newly revised and edited _Resurrection and Redemption_. I've gone through and corrected a few things, and major editing of the punctuation and grammar variety is, as always, handled by my lovely sisters Lissa and Jesse.

_Resurrection and Redemption  
_By C.K. Blake

One:

It's just a single step. He looks at Logan Echolls with Veronica Mars in his arms, and he knows it's time to let go of everything, all the lies he's ever lived. There is pain and regret swimming in the dark pools of his eyes as they lock with Logan's unforgiving gaze, and at the sound of Logan's silence, he gives a little nod and says, "That's what I thought."

He takes that single step, like it's a dance, and it goes over smooth, though he almost misses the ledge of the floor below. He makes a mad grab for it, because he really isn't ready to die. He struggles to get over the edge as something is shoved off right beside him. He winces as that something brushes him, and then a pair of surprisingly strong arms are hauling him over the ledge and he falls back into the room, his breathing is hard as he looks up into the smirking eyes of his stepmother.

"Just one of the ways cheerleading has saved your little ass, Beav," she says with that seductively winning smile of hers.

He doesn't really know what to say to that, so he moves to the window and stares down at the horrific tableau below. There is a body dressed in clothes just like his, and in the pockets of those pants are his wallet full of his credit cards, his ID, everything. He smiles, knowing that Beaver is finally dead. He turns around and narrows his eyes on Kendall, and for once his smile is peaceful as the flashing blue and red lights of police cars and ambulances draw nearer to the hotel.

"My name is Cassidy. Beaver is dead," he says, and Kendall shakes her head and gives a small snort of laughter.

"Yeah, I remember that feeling too. So what are you going to do Cassidy Banks?" and she can't help wondering why he chose her real original last name.

He smiles, looking like a regular kid, like he always has before, but he's not as weighed down as he used to be, and his eyes are sparkling with life, and Kendall is surprised, to say the least, by the way this seemingly quiet, brilliant mastermind has just changed before her very eyes. If she had a heart she is sure it would be warmed by the Kodak moment.

"Today is my birthday. I'll do whatever I want. I've got that new apartment to move into, so I'll probably be maxing out that card you gave me. You'll see that it's paid off right?" he says with a smirk.

"That insurance on your ass better cover it if you're maxing THAT card out," she warns, and then she shakes her head. "And I can't believe you're staying in Neptune. Even your father had the sense to get out when he could. I thought I was dealing with the smart brother."

He shrugs. "I am the smart one. Let's see, I'm the only child of Priscilla Banks, father unknown, I've been living in L.A. up until a few days ago, and I'm being put up in a nice little apartment, since your house isn't all that safe with private detectives breaking in and all. It's a weird coincidence that I have the same first name and look like that kid that blew up the bus and a private plane, and I'll be starting school at Pan High, the un-Neptune this year in the fall. It's seems like everything is covered. Gotta love a man who knows what he's doing. So how did you get someone like Clarence Wiedman to pull this kind of job? Did he do it for a quick roll in the sack? Really I don't see much in your charms, but I guess I don't have an Oedipal complex, Mom."

She shudders at the term of not so endearing affection. "You better not need me for any parent-teacher conferences. Keep up your grades and no fighting. Besides I did a little favor for Wiedman. I'm sure you'll see it all played out before we leave. Speaking of, you need to change out of those clothes. I packed the hoodie for you so wear the hood part of it."

"Wow, it's almost like you really care, Mom," he says sarcastically, enjoying the way he's making her squirm.

She rolls her eyes and glares at him. "And stop calling me that. It's like really creepy, and how did you figure out my real age and name anyway?"

"I used to know this really great computer hacker who is friends with a certain detective's daughter," he says, and there is a note of wistful regret in his voice as his mind swirls with images of Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie, with her big smile, her bright blue eyes, and those two streaks of vibrant red in her hair. The year before it had been blue. She is the only one who's ever treated him like a person, and he knows he hurt her beyond anything, and the regret is running deep, but that life is gone, with one step off the Neptune Grand's roof it's over, and he's sad that he can't go back to at least apologize, explain, anything. He sighs, because he's never really been good with genuine apologies anyway. He wouldn't know where to begin.

"And just where did you zone off to? Still harboring that little crush on the computer geek?"

"Don't call her that," he says defensively.

"Fine," she says and tosses him the clothes that she packed him earlier. "Now get dressed so we can leave already, you know before the cops storm the building and I stuff your little ass into an air vent or something, because I'm so not getting busted for this."

Once he's dressed he follows Kendall out of the room. His eyes widen at the blood-spattered television and Aaron Echolls's dead body slumped over with two fresh bullet holes in it. He's more than a little disgusted over the fact that the body is naked and the room reeks of sex. He decides not to bring that up with Kendall, for his own sanity rather than her comfort, not that she would make any apologies for being exactly what she is.

He pulls the hood tighter around his face and ducks his head once they are out of the room. She hands him a set of keys, points him in the direction of the stairs, and tells him the floor in the garage that the car is on. He doesn't waste any time. He's out in the parking garage a few minutes later, looking around, wondering which car she's gotten him. He pushes the button on the remote on the key ring and looks up when he hears the alarm go off. He sees it at the end, parked next to one of the cement pillars holding up the roof.

It's a new dark blue KIA Sportage LX-I4 four-wheel drive, and he sighs. So much for inconspicuous when he starts school in the fall. He unlocks the door, gets in the car, fastens the seatbelt, cranks it up, and pulls out of the space. Soon he's driving out of the garage and past the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance. He doesn't spare a glance in the direction of where the body crushed a car. He really doesn't care…much. That life is over now, and he's starting a new one, though he can't help wondering about Mac, and how his brother will take this. Maybe it'll be a party in true Dick fashion, or maybe it will be swept under the rug with lots of booze and fucking around, either way, he won't be the one carting Dick's drunk ass up the stairs and into bed. Dick is someone else's mess to look after now.

* * *

He closes his eyes and lets his head fall forward on his steering wheel. He wonders what he's even doing here, not that there is much of a crowd. It's been a week, and he's got his new apartment fully furnished with his simplistic taste, he's bought new clothes, escaped in setting up a new life. He's got a fully stocked kitchen, and a whole new life. He's avoided watching the news, knowing what he'll see.

He'll see his face splashed across the screen with the list of all the horrible things he's done, but he's not that person anymore. At least that is what he's telling himself. The nightmares are saying otherwise, because now he's haunted by the faces of the kids on the bus. He slowly opens his eyes and nervously runs his hand through his dark hair. He glances at his reflection in the driver's side mirror in the sun visor and he smiles at the blue streaks that he's added to his hair. It's a little touch of Mac, a reminder of his biggest regret.

He looks up across the grass and various slabs of marble, and takes in a deep breath. He doesn't dare leave his car. That would be tempting fate too much, especially since Veronica Mars is actually present. Mac is there as well and he finds that more surprising than Mars showing up. He wants to be closer to hear what is being said, to get good close up looks at the faces of the people who've actually shown up for his funeral.

There is the scattering of board members from his father's belly-up company, there's Kendall dressed to kill in a simple black dress that she manages to look slinky in with the short skirt and plunging neckline of the garment. Dick is also there, looking out of place in his suit. Cassidy wishes that his brother looks like he always does, in a vulgar t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and tennis shoes, but Dick is dressed in a stiff black suit.

He sees Logan Echolls, standing next to Veronica Mars, with his arm protectively covering her shoulders. Veronica is dressed in a simple black pants suit, and Logan looks more accustomed to his suit than Dick does. Last his eyes are drawn to Mac. She is dressed in a long black dress, and her hair is pulled back in a clip, the two red streaks clearly visible in her dark hair. He's not so far away that he can't make out her expression. His heart aches at the sight of her. She looks as though she's torn between wanting to hate him, and wanting to know why. Why he's done the things he's done.

He wants to get out of his car, go up to her, explain everything. Tell her all about those nights after little league practice, about the nightmares he's had almost every night since. He wants to confess to her, if only to give her some excuse, some way of understanding how he's become what he is, but it's over now. Everything is over now and it's time to move on, but he knows he can't forget.

It kills him that he won't be able to forget, because he remembers how her hair feels silky between his fingers, how her smile is so bright, and her eyes light up when she looks at him. He remembers feeling loved and special around her. He remembers being almost vulnerable and human around her, and how her laugh always made his heart do this funny little leap every time he heard it. His hands are reaching to unbuckle his seatbelt when he suddenly looks up at the sound of this inhuman wail.

His eyes widen and he's breathless as he sees his older brother, the hard partying, laid back, self-centered, self-absorbed Dick Casablancas collapse to his knees. He doesn't know what's worse, watching his brother breaking down, or seeing that no one is there to comfort him, help him stand up and shake him until he gets a hold of himself. He wonders what is holding everyone back, not even Logan, Dick's supposed friend, is making a move to do anything.

He is reminded then of just what he loves most about Mac as she goes over to Dick and does what he would have done, crouches next to him, talks him into getting up and rubbing him on the back. Surprisingly Dick listens to her, and Cassidy almost smiles at the thought of what Dick's probably muttering under his breath about letting Ghost World help him.

He's still reaching to unbuckle his seatbelt when he sees Kendall looking up at his car. She lowers her sunglasses and sends an intense glare in his direction. He quits trying to undo his seatbelt, turns the key in the ignition and leaves the cemetery and his funeral far behind.

It doesn't take him long to return to his apartment. Once he's there he goes to his fridge, pulls out a diet soda, pops the top on it and gulps it down. He leans back on his kitchen counter, his head tilted back, struggling to breathe. He knows it's a bad idea to linger, and he feels stupid for having gone to his own funeral, but he couldn't resist. He's still trying to wrap his mind around the show of Dick's grief and Mac comforting his brother.

He doesn't even dwell on the fact that his mother wasn't there. It's not like he mattered much to his parents. Dick was always the favored one. Beaver was the one in the background who made good grades, kept his head down, hardly ever spoke up, and turned into a suicidal killer. Well he's not suicidal, but there's no sense in sharing that one with the world. He's happy that it's over, he's sure of it, because maybe now he can live a somewhat normal life.

His past is dead, he's seen to that, and he'd really only gone to the funeral for closure, but why does it feel like there's this huge empty space in him when he thinks of how his brother is actually grieving for him, and he chokes every time he sees Mac in his mind's eye? He is coming to the conclusion that closure is an illusion that really sucks.

He goes into his room and pulls a book down from one of the bookcases that line the far wall of his new bedroom. He realizes that it is Dumas's _Count of Monte Cristo_, and he smiles at the irony, because he has a little in common with Edmond Dontes. He's acted on revenge and finds that he's still searching for peace, because it seems that there will always be nightmares of what was before.

He's into the second page of the third chapter when there is a sharp knock on his door. With a sigh he marks his place, gets up from the couch, and pulls open the door. He's hardly surprised to see Kendall checking her nails and tapping her foot in annoyance. He opens the door wider and she strides into his apartment. She looks around, and he sees that she looks kind of impressed with how he's got everything set up.

"Tasteful," she says offhandedly before she gets right down to business. "So your insurance policy is a bust, because they've labeled you a suicide."

"I thought they might," he replies with a smirk, and then continues, "But what have you found out about our little business venture?"

Kendall actually smiles at him. "8.2 million and still bringing in the dollar signs, so I'll handle your bills and call you up for investment advice. Now mind telling me what you think you were doing at your funeral today? Do you have any idea what would have happened if that nosey little blonde Nancy Drew wannabe saw you?"

"I wanted to see who would be there, if anybody," he answers with a shrug.

She rolls her eyes. "Like anyone would actually miss a suicidal murderer! Hello! Although I was surprised to actually see some depth in your brother. I mean wow, he actually has emotions. But crying like that. What a spectacle, and your little girlfriend, she saw that he made it home, if you're actually concerned. She didn't stay long, just made sure he made it inside all right."

"That was pretty decent of her. I'm kinda shocked she showed up at all," he says, a longing lilt in his voice.

"Well you know how to pick em. She's one of those decent, genuine people. You know the kind that people like us exploit and totally screw over."

"Don't say that about her. She's been through a lot because of me. Through all of this I didn't want her to get hurt," he says.

"Oh come on Junior! Look at you, talk about a screw up much, but you're a sneaky one. I have to admit I kind of admire that about you kid. So what's the game plan for you this summer? Any major plans for taking off, preferably out of the country, or are you still planning on sticking around?" she asks, and he can tell that she's hoping he'll heed her advice and scram.

He looks at her with a cocky smile. "I'm staying to look after my investments. I mean my guilt-ridden, adoring mother did give me a majority stake in her new company. Once I come of age I'll have control of the Phoenix Land Trust again. Oh and as I'm still kind of your boss I want you to do me a favor. Go to Mac and see if she'll still handle the website for us. She's the best, and she could probably use the money, for college or whatever."

She groaned. "You're new to this, so let me explain. You don't help the people you screw over, especially when you are supposed to be cutting all of your ties."

"Thanks for the advice, Priscilla," he replies, and holds back the chuckle as her dark eyes narrow on him in annoyance.

A few minutes later she is agreeing to offer Mac the job and then she's stalking out of his apartment, firmly slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

He's walking into Java the Hut, and he feels the eyes of people on him. He almost smirks as he faces Veronica Mars, her eyes widen as her mouth falls open. He has to remember that he doesn't know these people and they don't know him.

"Hi," he says, confidence in his tone. "Mind showing me to a table?"

She closes her mouth and gives her head a shake. "I'm sorry," she says and still she looks at him suspiciously. "You just look so much like someone I use to know."

"Yeah, I've gotten that a lot lately," he says as he sits at the table she's led him to, and puts his messenger bag down on the floor. "I've been getting that ever since I moved here from LA. People kind of stare at me like I'm the boogieman or something. So who was he?"

She shrugs and avoids meeting his gaze. "Just a really messed up kid that found a way to make the news one night. He blew up a bus and a plane, and then he jumped off of the tallest building in Neptune. It's kind of the most recent tragedy that's happened around here lately."

"Sounds like a real winner," he pauses and makes a show of looking at her nametag. "Veronica."

"Yeah, he had everyone fooled," she says and then she takes out a pad and changes her tone to a more chipper one, "So what can I get for you?"

"A mocha latte and a croissant," he replies, and he notices as she shakes her head. She'd probably been expecting him to order coffee black and a Danish the way he once would have. But he's not Beaver anymore. Beaver is dead and he's Cass Banks now.

A few minutes later he's sipping his mocha latte and nibbling at his croissant as he looks over the latest figures of the Phoenix Land Trust on his laptop. He's surprised when someone closes the screen on his laptop, almost catching his fingers. He takes in an annoyed breath and his eyes widen as he's faced with his older brother for the first time in over a month.

"Beaver?" Dick asks, as he stares at him.

"What the hell? Is that supposed to be someone's name, asshole?" Cassidy asks, trying to act nonchalant, like he doesn't know the guy that is staring him down with an almost smile on his face.

Dick looks heartbroken, as he drops his gaze to the table. "I guess not. He's gone. But dude, you look so much like him, with a little bit of Ghost World, with the blue streaks in your hair. Sorry I bothered you."

"Hey, Dick, man, what are you…?" Logan Echolls pauses as he stares past Dick and looks at a very familiar face, and he can't help it as he says, "Shit man, Beaver? That's it, no more drinking if it leads to seeing ghosts."

"My name is Cassidy," he says, and then, at the startled looks of his older brother and his brother's new best friend he says, "Cassidy Banks. I moved here from LA. So who is this Beaver guy and why in the hell did you fuck with my computer?"

Veronica wanders back over to the table to check up on him and see what's going on with Dick and Logan at his table. Dick stumbles into the seat across from him and Logan remains standing. Veronica comes up behind Logan and slips her arm around his waist and mentions that it's almost time for her to get off. She doesn't know what his name is yet.

"So, Cassidy where were you living before you checked into LA and then moved on to Neptune?" Logan asks, his voice full of suspicion, and he can't seem to get over the feeling that he is staring at Beaver. He spares a glance at Dick and knows that Dick is probably thinking the same thing, that's if he's capable of thought at this point. Or maybe Dick is just considering his next drink.

He shrugs. "I've been almost everywhere. I was kind of pushed off from relative to relative, until my mom heard that I was living in LA. I've lived in Dallas, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco, and LA before good old Neptune. I've got a pretty sweet set up right now. My mom's renting an apartment for me, got me a cool new ride, a credit card, and I'm starting Pan High in the fall. Gotta love guilt tripping a dead beat mom who's suckered some rich asshole into marrying her, right?"

"And who's your mom and why don't you live with her?" Veronica asks.

"I guess she doesn't want me around because she's not really used to me or something, but she's got a stepson, go figure?" Cassidy says with a shrug and decides to add the icing to the cake. "Her name's Priscilla Banks."

"Kendall," Veronica blurts out in disbelief before she can stop herself and both Logan and Dick turn to her in shock. Cassidy simply smirks at the reaction.

"So that's the name she goes by. Funny, she never told me," he replies, and then Dick's staring at him again.

"Dude, that makes us like brothers or something. She's my step mom," Dick says, and there's hope sparking in those guileless blue eyes.

Cassidy shrugs. "Or something."

"That's kind of cool. I mean I lost my kid brother recently, so if you like want to hang out or something, and dude, Pan High totally sucks. You should so try to get into Neptune man," Dick says, and Cassidy can't help feeling sympathy for his brother, because he really has missed him, even if they've never had much in common.

"What do you mean, lost? Did he runaway or was he misplaced in the mansion you probably live in?" Cassidy asks, his tone acidic.

Dick looks crushed, and Cassidy feels somewhat guilty. He doesn't know where this bitterness is coming from.

"Hey asshole, his brother died," Logan spits out, and he shifts from Veronica's hold on him and gives Dick a pat on the back in support, and Veronica seems to understand the loss that Dick's feeling, though she will never sympathize with Cassidy, how can she after what he's done to her.

"It's funny. You look so much like Beaver," Dick says, a note of sorrow sounding out of place in his voice as he looks at Cassidy. "But you don't really act like him. I mean he was always quiet. Getting him to talk was like pulling teeth or something. And he was always so damn polite, and kind of scared all the time. He wouldn't take a chance on anything."

"Sorry man," Cassidy says, and he reaches across the table, puts his hand on Dick's arm and gives it a light squeeze. "Must be hard losing a kid brother. I wouldn't know. I'm an only child."

"Not anymore," Dick says, a little smile playing across his mouth. "If you're Kendall's kid, then you're my new kid brother. It's not like you're replacing Beav, no one can, but you can party with us, if you want."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea," Veronica says as she looks suspiciously at Cassidy.

Cassidy takes in a deep breath and says, "Maybe Blondie has a point. It could stir up too many memories."

"Aww, come on, we're headed to a party right now man, you totally have to come," Dick pleads, and Cassidy can't resist.

"All right," he gives in and than he just has to ask, "So what was Beaver's real name, anyway?"

Dick sucks in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly in a hiss as they stand up and Cassidy shuts his laptop down and puts it away. He settles the shoulder strap of his messenger bag on his left shoulder before Dick settles his arm around his shoulder the way he use to, and as they leave the café behind while Veronica clocks out, Dick says softly, "His name was Cassidy."

Cassidy's heart skips a beat; because he can't recall the last time that Dick ever called him Cassidy. He takes a sharp breath, and feels that familiar relief that Beaver is dead, and Cassidy is allowed to breathe, exist, live again. He just wonders what tomorrow is going to be like when he wakes up from this dream and faces Kendall's wrath for finding his way back into Dick's circle of friends.

* * *

Please review!


	2. TWO

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Two:

It's weird waking up on the couch in the house where he used to live. He wonders how he's gotten here, and why his brain is fuzzy. Then Kendall's angry face swims into his vision and even someone as unobservant as Dick can tell that she's royally pissed off.

"We need to talk," she hisses, and rolls her eyes at the sight of Dick sleeping it off on the other couch.

Cassidy nods and gets up quietly. He follows her to her room and rubs at his temples as she closes the door behind her and firmly locks it. She looks like a predator as she approaches him and he swallows thickly, but he's determined he won't show that he's nervous. She gets him backed up against her bed, and then she shoves him back and he lands on it with a grunt.

"All right resurrection boy, let's get something straight right now. I've helped you out when I really didn't have to, although I'll admit you helped me out when your father left me dirt poor and at your mercy. Now the whole point of your dying was so that you could like move on, finally be a real boy or whatever. It wasn't so that you could become your brother's best friend and end up right back where you started! This is how smart people get caught, they start acting stupid! Use that damn brain of yours, already," she snarls at him, and jabs him in the shoulder to emphasize her point as she looms over him.

"Beaver is dead," Cassidy growls right back at her, and swats her hand away. He's surprisingly clearheaded now, though the hangover-induced headache is still pounding at the edges of his consciousness. "I'm your son, Cassidy Banks. So mom, how about welcoming me home with open arms."

"My kid is deader than you are," she bites out, though she pauses, and there's a flash of regret in her eyes, but it's gone in the next moment. "You are just a pain in the ass who is hell bent on self-destructing, and I've been talking to your little girlfriend. She's not too happy with the prospect of working on the site, but I gave her your offered salary, that comes out of your shares of the company by the way, and she didn't pass it up."

He nods. "Good, she is the best, and I like having the best working for me."

"No, you're just sentimental and hopelessly stupid when it comes to anything that can't be seen in a pie chart."

"Gee Mom, just when I was starting to feel welcomed."

"Have I mentioned lately how much I really dislike you? Because I think your memory needs refreshing," she snaps, and narrows her eyes in a show of anger as he simply smirks at her. "Fine, if you get caught and you so much as breathe my name, I will have your ass thrown off of the roof of the Neptune Grand, and kid, I have the resources to do just that."

"So does this mean I can visit you in your pending old age?" His eyes are sparkling as he discovers just what it is that makes Kendall tick.

She adjusts her cleavage in his face and gives him her best, 'fuck you' smile as she says, "Does this look like old age to you? Now go take some aspirin for your hangover, and hang out with your stupid brother while Keith and Veronica Mars figure this whole mess out and then nail your ass. Have a good life in the meantime, really."

She walks over to her dresser and checks her reflection in the mirror, running a perfectly manicured nail across her bottom lip. He gets up from her bed, crosses the room, unlocks her door, jerks it open and slams it hard behind him. He's storming down the stairs when suddenly he runs into a solid chest and falls back against the bottom steps, jarring his elbow and his tailbone in the process.

"Fuck, Dick, what the hell?!" he snarls.

"Bea…" Dick almost lets slip out, but he shakes his head and corrects himself. "Cass, man I'm sorry. I just heard this door slam and then a picture fell and like man, what's up with that?"

Cass shrugs and sighs as he rubs at his temple, which is aching again. "Mommy dearest saw me and freaked. You know how it goes. So got anything that will help with a hangover?"

"Aspirin and like lots of Evian, bro, seriously works wonders. The kitchen's this way," Dick says and Cassidy follows him to the kitchen, though he already knows the way.

He smirks as he watches Dick search all the drawers and cabinets in pursuit of the aspirin and he really wants to tell him that it's in the cabinet with the drinking glasses, but he keeps his mouth shut. He grins when Dick grabs the bottle triumphantly and starts to do a dance before he's clutching his head and groaning in pain. Dick shakes a couple of pills out of the little bottle and knocks them back dry, before he tosses the bottle to Cassidy and gets a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge. He takes a long swig from his water bottle as he hands Cassidy the other.

Cassidy pops two aspirin in his mouth and then uncapping the water he takes a few swallows and downs the pills before he decides to drink a good swig from the water as the dry mouth is killing him.

"I'm so never drinking again," Cassidy moans.

"Same here," Dick replies and lifts his empty water bottle in salute.

* * *

Cassidy is amazed with how his summer passes so quickly, and all of the burdens of his old life slowly slip away. He's happy hanging out with his brother and pissing off Kendall every time he calls her mom.

He's getting to really know himself as much as he's getting to know Dick, and for once Dick isn't ignoring him. Dick is his friend again, like they were when they were little kids and Dick was actually a decent older brother. Like it was before little league, and Woody Goodman, like it was before he was forced to grow up.

He likes just being a kid again. It's so liberating and amazing, and Dick isn't so bad. He can still be a shallow asshole, but he's actually funny, and it's something that Cassidy never really noticed before.

He's lying back in his bed, his fingers entwined behind his head, his legs crossed below him as he looks at his ceiling and mulls over starting his senior year at Pan High. Dick is still a little miffed that he's choosing Pan High over Neptune, but Cassidy knows its necessary. There are too many memories at Neptune and he doubts he can make it though the entire year there, not with everyone staring at him and saying how much he looks like the crazy kid, Beaver, the one that blew up a bus full of kids and a plane.

He also likes his independence, he's free to come and go as he pleases, and he's not trapped in a huge mansion. He has his own little place and he can choose to stay or leave without answering to anyone and he is responsible for the up keep. There are no maids constantly around, eavesdropping, poking through his things, changing sheets he's already changed.

He likes that he's on his own, and it's his. It's nothing that was given to him with his father's money, it's something he's earned all on his own and it makes him proud.

He is starting to nod off as thoughts randomly swirl in his head and then he hears a knock at his door. He sighs, wondering who it is, because it's not the sharp knuckled rap on the door that Kendall usually gives and it's not the steady door breaking pound that Dick always exercises without mercy. He stumbles, tired and exhausted to the door, mindful of the wires of the game controller on the floor. He shakes his head recalling how things have changed and how close he's actually managed to get with his brother.

He pulls open the door, thinking that it might be Dick, when suddenly his eyes widen and he's staring at Mac. Her eyes don't glow the way they used to and the two streaks of color she used to have in her dark hair are gone. She also looks tired, and very stunned as she stares at him. This is the first time he's seen her since his funeral.

"Hello," he says awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

He's been avoiding her.

She's been trying to get a meeting with Kendall's silent partner, the person that insists she's the best person to maintain the Phoenix Land Trust's website, and he's the person who authorized the huge salary that she's been collecting. She got his address from Veronica, and she didn't understand the sympathy and regret in Veronica's eyes as she'd taken the address from her, but now she does, because she is facing someone who is supposed to be dead.

"Cassidy," she says, her voice soft and then her eyes flutter and roll back into her head as she faints, and he barely manages to catch her in time.

He winces as he picks her up and notices that she's gained some weight. He manages to stagger over to his couch and lay her down. He then closes his door, goes into his bathroom, gets a washcloth, runs it under the cold tap, and returns to her side. He kneels on the floor next to the couch, pressing the cool cloth against her cheeks and he can't take his eyes off of her, because she's still so beautiful. To him she's still his Mac.

She's starting to come around. As her eyes open he's expecting her to scream, lash out, hit him, anything but what she does. He winces when she brings her hands to his face and runs her fingers lightly across his features, jaw, cheeks, forehead, and then her fingers are in his hair and he's leaning into her touch, and he can't stop himself. He wonders how she can touch him after all he's done to her. He closes his eyes against the memories of what he used to be.

"Oh God, Cassidy, you're alive, but how? I was at your funeral, and you were dead. You jumped off the Neptune Grand and crushed in the roof of Madison Sinclair's car and you were dead. What are you doing here? Now?" she asks, and there are tears in her eyes as she sits up, and he doesn't know how to answer her because he knows he can't lie to her. She knows him and she knows who he is.

"I'm so sorry, Cindy," he whispers, and he wants to lean forward and kiss her so badly, but he doesn't think it will be right…not after what he's done.

She takes his face between her hands and then her lips are pressed against his and he's surprised. She kisses him greedily, her tongue slipping across his lips and he opens his mouth to her, and it's like it was before that night, sweetness, and hope, and buttery caramel.

She pulls back from the kiss and then she's off of his couch and running toward the kitchen, looking desperately for something, anything as she clutches her stomach. She finds the trashcan next to the stove and then she is vomiting. Cassidy winces. He hates that he's made her react like this, that he makes her sick to her stomach. He walks into the kitchen, stops beside her and pulls her hair back. He wants to rub her back and comfort her, but he doesn't know if that is his place anymore.

When she's finished, she looks up at him, and he tells her where she can find the bathroom.

He is sitting on the couch in his living room when she comes and sits down in the chair next to the couch. She's leaning forward, her elbows on her knees, and her hands clasped together. Her body is trembling and he's fighting every urge to just get up, go over to her, and wrap his arms around her, tell her that everything is going to be okay. He doesn't want to lie to her though. How can everything be okay?

Finally she looks up and meets his dark, hopeful eyes, those sad eyes that hold so many regrets. She takes in a deep breath and speaks.

"I came because I wanted to thank my mysterious benefactor. I was kind of surprised when Kendall Casablancas came to me and asked me if I was interested in maintaining the Phoenix Land Trust website. I didn't even know that it was an actual business; I just thought that you were like doing it for your Future Business Leaders of America thing. I guess the joke is on me. Were you paying me off or something? Why did you want me?"

"Because you're the best, and I wanted to make sure you were okay, that you had money to go to school if you wanted to. I wanted you to be taken care of," he whispers, and reaches out to her, before he rethinks the gesture and his hand is dipping nervously beneath the collar of his t-shirt, and he's the same guy who fell for her at the beginning of last year.

"So what happened that night? How is it that you're alive? Why did you just leave me and take my clothes? I've heard it all from Veronica. I know what you did to her, and how you almost killed her on that roof. I want to hear it from you now, because what I heard from her doesn't sound like the Cassidy that I know," she whispers, and she's swallowing thickly, anger and sadness in her blue eyes, and he wonders if he's strong enough to tell her the truth.

"Veronica is kind of smarter than she looks. I found that out when I had her investigate Kendall and she blew the cover on my dad's old company. That night she sent you a message while you were in the shower. She was warning you about me. I went crazy. I knew that I would have to put my back-up plan into action, so I did. I knew it would go down that night if I had to go through with it. Kendall knew this guy Clarence Wiedman, he set up all of the paperwork, found a body he could toss out of a window, and when I stepped off of the roof I grabbed the ledge below where Kendall was staying and she helped me inside and pushed the body out of the window," he says, by way of explanation.

"I've guessed along those lines to get to the part where you are sitting there in that chair very much alive. Now tell me why, I want to hear you say it," she says firmly.

"You don't understand Cindy, he deserved it. Do you know how many kids he's touched and broken? It had to stop, but I didn't want anyone knowing that I was one of those kids. So I blew up the bus to keep them quiet, but it still drove me crazy that he was getting away with it. Yes I blew up Woody Goodman's plane. You want to know why? He used to take me to his house for private coaching, but instead of playing catch or working on my batting average he drank beer and told me how much he cared about me while he touched me! What's makes it so bad is that I couldn't stop it and my body would react. I'd see him getting off and I knew it was bad, but my body reacted. That's why it was so hard for me to touch you, because with you it felt right and I knew it was right and I loved you, but I was dirty, and I knew that you had to see that, you had to know. That if I touched you I'd make you dirty, but it didn't stop me. And I can't even remember why I took your clothes, maybe it was because I didn't want you coming after me, I was protecting you…or I don't know."

"I'm sorry," she says, and she reaches for his hand, takes it and gives it a squeeze. "You could have told me though. We could have gotten through it, Cass."

"I didn't want your pity," he spits out bitterly, and turns to the floor in shame, and then he shifts his gaze back up to her and snatches his hand back from her grasp. "So when should I expect Veronica pounding down my door with the sheriff's department backing her up? Or she hasn't figured it out yet?"

"She doesn't know, but she's probably suspicious," Mac says, and she smiles as she notices the streaks of blue in his hair as light from the hall filters in through his blue curtains, and her fingers are itching to run through it. "And I'm not going to tell her. I have my own reasons for keeping your secrets and keeping you safe."

"Why do you even care?" Cassidy asks, and his voice is cracking with emotion and confusion.

She shrugs. "Because you are the only boy that has ever touched me and I still love you, and there's something I need to tell you."

He cocks his head in curiosity, at the worried tone in her voice and he looks at her, and wonders what she could possibly have to tell him after revealing that she still loves him. "Okay," he says cautiously, to encourage her.

"I've only found out recently, but…" she begins and then she's up and running for the bathroom again, and he's there in a flash holding her hair back while she moans and retches over the toilet. When she's finished and the toilet is flushed he leans against the door and watches her as she cleans up. She swirls some of his mouthwash in her mouth and spits it out to get the taste out of her mouth and then she looks at him and her eyes are brimming with tears, and he's wondering what could possibly have her so upset, if it isn't him.

"What is it, Cindy? Are you sick? Do you need to see a doctor? If you can't afford it I'll gladly pay. I'll do anything for you," he says, and pushes off from the door and puts his arms around her, and she's clinging to him, and he notices that her stomach is poking against him, not much, just a little bit, but enough for him to notice. She's shaking, her face is pressed against his shoulder and he feels her hot tears burning through his shirt.

They sink to the floor together as he holds her and she cries against him. When she has no more tears and her sobs have died down to random hiccups, she finally pulls back, and he still thinks she is beautiful as he looks at her. He reaches into the cabinet below the sink and grabs another washcloth. He stretches and runs it under the cold water, before he turns the faucet off and then he's washing her face off with the cold, wet washcloth, and he's whispering anything he can think of that might calm her down.

Finally he shifts and holds her against him, as he leans his back against the bathroom door, and he wonders what's wrong with her. She isn't about to tell him that she's got some kind of incurable thing and that she's dying, is she? His breath stills in his throat and his body stiffens. She senses that he's stressed, and again there is fear in her eyes, but she is determined to tell him.

"I'm pregnant." She doesn't mean to blurt it out, but it's too late. The words are said and there's no undoing them or taking them back.

He's stunned. He doesn't know how to react, but that does explain why she's heaving every few minutes, why she fainted on his doorstep, why she's gained weight.

"But how?" he asks and winces because he knows it's a stupid question and then he says, "I mean, it wasn't all that great. I let you down and it was over in like a few seconds. I couldn't hold out or anything, and the condom slipped when I…oh."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too," she whispers delicately and her cheeks are flushed.

"So who else knows about this?" he asks gently.

She sighs and leans her head back against his shoulder as she looks up at him. She's surprised that her anger with him has faded. She sees that he's the boy that she fell in love with again. She knows he's done terrible things, and she should probably hate him, but she can't bring herself to. Not after she's seen the look in his eyes and knows that he desperately wants to be forgiven in spite of whatever act he's putting on for everyone. She also sees the fear in his eyes, and wonders what this news could mean for him, for her, for all of them.

"No one. I haven't been able to bring myself to tell anyone. I mean I'm not supposed to be the clichéd girl who gets knocked up on graduation night. I'm too smart for that, but I guess someone else had other plans," she says lightly.

"I guess I've really messed up your life," he replies, and his eyes are so sad, and his voice sounds so bleak. "I'm sorry. What are you planning on doing?"

She shrugs. "I'm going to shoulder my responsibility, and see that this genius in the making is raised right. I mean think about it, this kid will have my looks and our combined brains. Business and technological savvy, may the future beware. I won't let what happened to you happen to them though."

"Neither will I," Cassidy says, and there is conviction in his voice, and he pulls Mac closer against him and drops his hands to the bump that is barely noticeable.

He drops a kiss on her temple and he wonders how she can be so forgiving when he still can't forgive himself. She said that she still loves him, he hopes that it will be enough. He's not stupid. He knows they have a lot to work through, but knowing that after she's found out that he's alive, and she intends to keep that a secret, and she trusts him with the knowledge of the existence of their child growing inside her, there is still something between them. He's almost afraid to hope until he shifts his gaze down to her face and sees that her eyes are closed. He realizes that she's fallen asleep.

He carefully gathers her in his arms, slowly gets to his feet, opens the bathroom door, carries her down the hall to his bedroom, and gently lies her down on the bed. He pulls the covers over her and presses a light kiss to her lips before he retreats from the room and lies down on his couch, one arm behind his head as thoughts of a baby swim through his mind. He thought school would be the thing to keep him up all night, but a baby makes school seem so blasé in comparison.

* * *

The smell of bacon and eggs slowly registers as consciousness seeps into him, and he groans as he shifts and realizes that he isn't sleeping on his nice, comfy bed. He slowly sits up, his body aches from having slept on his couch, and then he remembers why he slept on the couch and he stands up.

His eyes widen at the sight of Mac in his kitchen, and she's cooking. It's such a domestic thing and he finds that he likes this, could maybe even get used to the prospect of seeing her cooking breakfast every morning.

He then realizes that she's cooking bacon and eggs, and she's a vegan. She isn't cooking for herself; she's cooking for him. He steps into his kitchen and smiles as he slips up behind her and presses a kiss to her cheek, and he hopes he doesn't sound shy and awkward as he quietly greets her with a good morning.

She smiles at him and shakes her head. "I'm just amazed that I've managed to actually cook this without ralphing everywhere."

"You didn't have to, but thanks," he replies, as she puts the steaming food on a plate for him and pushes the bread down in the toaster.

He takes the plate and munches on some bacon as he sits down at the counter and watches her move around his kitchen. He watches as she butters the toast and then hands it to him before she drops two more slices in the toaster.

He pours himself a glass of milk, while she takes a sip of orange juice. She gives him a sidelong glance and says, "If you're thinking of asking me to stay you better get used to soymilk and sherbet ice cream."

"Raspberry is your favorite," he says, and then after a thought, continues, "I think I can pick a few things up after school."

When the toast pops up out of the toaster she takes a bite of it dry and smiles at him, pleased that he remembers her favorite ice cream. He watches her out of the corner of his eye as he finishes his breakfast, and then she looks up at the clock on the wall and says, "So maybe you should consider a shower, like now or you're going to be late. Can't be late your first day."

He nods and then sighs. "Cindy, will you be here when I get home?"

"I'll have to go home to change, but sure," she says.

He nods again. "Thanks."

She gives him a small smile, knowing what he's thanking her for. She knows he's sorry, and she is trying to understand, without judging too harshly, because knowing him; he's judging himself enough for everyone. She knows this normalcy that she's trying for with him doesn't change anything, doesn't sweep anything under the rug, but after thinking he's dead for the last few months and finding out about the baby, she needs it.

She'll ignore the reality for just a little while until he's ready to open up to her, because she knows that he's not the monster he's been painted out to be. He's just scared and trying to find a way to stop hurting, granted he went about doing it entirely the wrong way. She just hopes that she can get Veronica to see it that way when the time comes, because Veronica will figure it out. She's fairly sure that Veronica is more than a little suspicious, which was why Veronica had hesitated with telling her where to find her benefactor.

She sighs and listens as the shower comes on. She finishes her toast, and the last bit of her orange juice, before she begins washing dishes, just for something to do. After about ten minutes Cassidy is in the kitchen, fully dressed in a pair of jeans, and his usual layers, a dark blue t-shirt and a light blue button up shirt that is open. He shoulders his new backpack, glad that he's going with the backpack as opposed to the messenger bag his first day of school. Messenger bags are more for cafés anyway.

She likes that his hair is wet, and he smells like his soap, pure and simple like that bar of aloe Ivory. His hair smells kind of fruity, like it used to, and she's glad that the things she loves about him haven't changed that much. She runs her hands through his wet hair with a smile and he kisses the corner of her mouth.

"So I'll see you when I get home?" he asks and holds out a key for her.

She smiles as she takes it. "Of course, and then we'll go over some new ideas I have for improving the site. I also have some thoughts on presenting your real estate to prospective customers. I might be a little cranky when you get home. I'll probably be working on my psych paper. Like I need that class when I'm planning on majoring in computer programming and can put most of the computer teachers to shame with my knowledge. Still the degree is a nice credential on a resume."

"So what is your schedule like for classes this year?" he asks out of curiosity.

"I'm taking my classes electronically. I made that decision when I found out about the baby," she replies, and he nods in acknowledgement. She looks up at the clock and then gives him a small shove toward the door. "Go or you're going to be late."

Cassidy has a smile on his face as he slips behind the wheel of his SUV. He knows things aren't okay, and it will take some time before it gets there, but it's headed in that direction, and maybe he can hope for some kind of normal after all. Still he's going to be a father before he graduates. He takes a deep breath at the thought and suddenly he's scared that he can't measure up, not after everything, but Mac believes in him, so maybe it will be okay.

He doesn't even realize he's made it to school until he's shutting off the SUV and getting out of it. He grabs his book bag from the passenger's seat, and then heads toward the large building. He takes a deep breath and savors the first official breath of his fresh start. Thoughts of Mac and raspberry sherbet ice cream drifting through his mind as he heads to the main office to get his schedule, locker number, and combination.

* * *

Please review!


	3. THREE

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Three:

Mac sets down one of the three bags of groceries she's carrying, and fumbles with the key Cassidy gave her earlier. She opens the door of his apartment, and goes inside. She puts down the two grocery bags and the over night bag previously slung on her shoulder, and is about to retrieve the third bag when she hears a familiar voice at the door and winces.

"Hey, Cass, man, you skipping your first day. Talk about cool, dude, but I gotta ask, what's with all the health food, and soymilk, ick…" the voice pauses as its owner looks up and his blue eyes widen as he looks at the girl in the kitchen. "Ghost world?"

"Dick," she responds.

He sets the bag down on the counter a little more harshly than is necessary and Mac takes out the soy milk and puts it in the fridge, all the while feeling Dick's glare on her. She is unsure of his temperament, because what she's seen of him, he's always been laid back, and she's never seen him angry, and Cassidy never talked much about any fights with Dick, although there was that time at the school carnival when Dick had slammed Cassidy down on the hood of a car after a pretty awesome prank. She really hopes he isn't that mad seeing her here.

"Mind telling me what you're doing here?" Dick asks sharply, and his tone surprises her as well as him.

She turns around and faces him. "I have a key."

"And how did you get it? What, you think you can just come in here and get all up in his life like you did my brother? Look at what happened to Beaver! Why can't you and that fucking bitch, Ronnie just stay the hell away? He's not doing anything!" Dick says, and he's breathing heavily and Mac isn't quite sure of what to say, because she realizes that he doesn't know that Cassidy is Beaver.

"His name is Cassidy, and I have just as much right to be here as you do. Look he's going to be home soon, so why not just hang out or whatever till he gets here and interrogate him all you want, because I don't have to tell you anything, but remember this, when you broke down at the funeral I was the one holding you, and I was the one that drove you home. You could be nicer you know. I did love your brother, I still do, and I really don't care what you think about me."

"Yeah, whatever," he says with a grunt and then he goes into the living room, and a few moments later Mac can hear the Mortal Kombat theme music fill the apartment as Dick settles in to play video games.

Mac is relieved that for the time being Dick seems to be willing to ignore her. She finishes putting away the groceries she's bought, and then she retreats to Cassidy's room, and Dick's animosity isn't lost on her as he gives her a grunt that's more like a snarl as she passes by him.

In Cassidy's room she peruses his bookshelf, a smile on her face, as their tastes in books are so similar. She lets her fingers roam over the spines of the books and then she pauses when she notices the book that is lying on the bedside table. She picks it up and shakes her head. He would read _The Count of Monte Cristo_. She looks at the spine of the book and knows that it is a well-used and probably beloved book. She checks to see where he's at, and smiles at the fact that he's marked his place with an index card of all things.

She takes the book with her as she goes into the living room. She steps across the various wires and gaming console, and settles into the simple plush chair next to the couch where Dick is growling at her for having cost him a life for passing in front of the television. She rolls her eyes and begins to read: _On the 24__th__ of February, 1815…_

* * *

He sighs as he hefts the two grocery bags in his arms and wonders why he's gone all out when he only intended to buy some ice cream and soymilk, but at the thought of Mac in his apartment, he can't help it. He pauses as he puts the key in the lock, because he hears the sounds of Mortal Kombat being played on his X-Box and he's pretty sure that Mac isn't the one playing.

He takes in a deep breath as he pushes open the door and his eyes widen as Mac marks her place in a book, and Dick hits the pause button on his game and looks up at him with a look that demands an explanation and pronto.

Mac gets up and takes the bags from him and goes into the kitchen. She doesn't want to be caught in the middle of the tension that is evident between the two. She notices from the kitchen that Cassidy is nervous, as he fidgets, his hands fumbling with his collar before he shoves them in his pockets and slumps his shoulders forward the way he used to when he was shy or nervous and was trying to hide it and failing miserably.

"Dude, stop it," Dick snaps, and Cassidy takes a step back like he's been hit.

Dick stands up from the couch and glares at Cassidy, getting in his face, and poking him in the chest with his finger, his anger and pain evident. "Look man, it's been cool hanging out with you and all, but you're not my brother, and you need to stop acting like him. I mean dude, you're suddenly Beaver on your first day of school and macking on his girlfriend. That's not cool! None of this is fucking cool. I mean I like being your friend and now you're just trying to replace my brother! I'm so not fucking cool with that, because he's gone and I'm trying so hard to deal with that and now you're trying to be him! Are you trying to like drive me crazy, because I'm simple, you drive me crazy and I'm not coming back, so fucking stop! Right now!"

Cassidy is stunned at Dick's anger and the pain he sees in his brother's eyes, and he can't take the charade anymore. Hell, Mac, already knows, why not tell his brother? He takes a deep breath, and does something that he's never really done before. He shoves Dick away from him, and stunned by the sudden movement Dick lands on his ass and looks up at Cassidy with a hurt expression on his face.

"I've always hated you calling me that," Cassidy grounds at, and then shakes his head at the bewildered expression on Dick's face. "Beaver. I'm not fucking Beaver. My name is Cassidy, why did you insist on calling me that? I never had any respect, and hell I'm pretty sure that people wouldn't have known I was your brother except for the fact that you dragged my ass along to almost every single party and happening event in Neptune once I was fifteen. Man you treated me like total shit, and I sucked it up, and I took care of you when you were hung over. I cleaned you up after you puked up your guts in the toilet, I drove you home, carted your ass to bed. I got you aspirin and water in the morning when you were groaning about never drinking again. When you were sick who was bringing you medicine, drinks, soup? What the fuck have you ever done for me Dick? You suddenly miss me when I gone? What do you miss? Pushing me around, having someone make sure you don't drown in your own puke, having me be your own personal fucking maid? You never even suspected what I went through, and when your friends came around I'd get left behind and forgotten until I either had to go pick your drunk ass up or practically drag you to bed."

Dick's mouth is opening and closing like a fish out of water. Suddenly he shakes his head, and realizes just what an idiot he is. "Shit," he says, and then he's on his feet and his arms are around his brother, and Cassidy swears that Dick is trying to crush him to death in his arms. Then Dick gets him in a half Nelson and gives him the noogie of a lifetime.

When Dick finally lets him go, Cassidy runs his hands through his hair and then Dick's fist comes flying out of nowhere and he is sprawled out on the floor on his back, his hand grasping at his swelling jaw and he's looking up in bewilderment at Dick.

"What the fuck was that for?" he snaps at his older brother as he watches Dick shake his fist out.

"Dude, you had me thinking you were fucking dead for over three months. You kinda had that coming," Dick replies and then he offers his hand to help Cassidy up.

"Fine, so are we cool now, and don't ever call me Beaver again," Cassidy replies as Dick pulls him to his feet.

"Okay, Cass, now explain to me how you're here and not dead, because, dude, I saw the body, and like there was a funeral and everything, and like use little words," Dick says, and Cassidy can't help the smile that plays with his mouth as the two of them sit down on the couch together to catch up.

When Cassidy is done explaining, Dick swears that he won't tell. Cassidy can't help shaking his head when Dick gives an in depth explanation for this, well as in depth as Dick can get.

"Dude, if I told Logan he'd tell Ronnie and Ronnie is total rich dude kryptonite, and like our step mom, Kendall, helped you? Man what did you get over on her?"

Before Cassidy can reply he hears a crash from the kitchen and rushes in to investigate. He sees a frying pan on the floor with some kind of stir-fry spilled everywhere and Mac is sucking on her finger.

"Shit, what happened?" he asks as he rushes toward her and takes her hand to look at her finger where she's burned it.

"I guess I got distracted when you guys mentioned Veronica. I was in here cooking so I wouldn't interrupt the whole brother rebonding thing," she replies.

"Well sit down, I'll take care of this and we'll order out. Maybe Chinese, I'll tell them to hold back on the cat, or we could order a veggie pizza, whatever you want," he says as he frets over her and Dick shakes his head from the doorway.

"Man, you're still hung up on Ghost World. It's not like she's going to break, Cass. It's just a little burn," Dick says casually, and he's stunned when Cassidy turns a glare on him.

"It could have been more serious than that! Can I help it if I'm worried about the girl I love who's carrying my baby?" he grinds out, and then his eyes widen as Mac sucks in a breath and he realizes what he's just said and to whom he has said it to.

"Woah," Dick says, and stumbles toward the nearest chair, which is situated across from Mac. He looks from her to his little brother and then back to her, shakes his head, and says, "Woah," again.

* * *

"That could have gone so much better," Mac says as she drops the dishes in the sink, glad that Dick is finally gone.

She shudders as she recalls all of Dick's questions and eyebrow wiggling innuendo at the news that he's going to be an uncle. Cassidy is watching her as he closes the pizza box and makes room for it in the fridge among all the groceries that Mac bought earlier. He's noticed her overnight bag in his bedroom, but he's unsure of how to broach the subject, unsure of what it means, so he goes with humor.

"So does this mean we won't be getting him to baby-sit?" Cassidy's voice is light, and he succeeds with his ploy as Mac gives him a sidelong glance and replies, "Do you really have to ask?"

He shrugs and laughs, a deep laugh that just kind of bubbles up out of him and he notices how Mac perks up and the big smile that he loves so much about her lights up her face. "What?"

She reaches out for his hand and he gives it to her, and she gives it a squeeze as she says, "It's just so great to hear you laughing again. I've always liked your laugh, and I haven't heard it nearly enough."

"Check, laugh more often," he replies with a big smile and then he ducks his head as his cheeks bloom with color and his eyes shift to the floor.

She snorts with a little laughter of her own. "Some things really never change. Now tell me how your day went. Swirlies, noogies? Any good wedgies to speak of?"

"Surprisingly no," he replies with a small grin. "It started looking like I was in for a senior year at Pan High like the last three years I've endured at Neptune. Then this asshole football player just walked by me and shoved me into the locker and I got so pissed. So I shoved him back and put my hand over his throat, told him to leave me the fuck alone, and then at lunch he asked me to sit with him and his buddies, and it's cool. I like having respect."

"Wow," Mac says. "At least you're standing up for yourself, though maybe less violence in the future."

"I was getting weird looks all day, and just to ease your mind, I didn't sit with jockstrap boy. I saw this guy sitting by himself at a lunch table, he was all short but lanky, with blonde hair and green highlights, and he kind of reminded me of you and me, and so I walked over to him to see if he'd tell me to fuck off, ignore me, or maybe talk to me," Cassidy says. "He looked up at me, gave me a nod, and then told me that people were kind of wary of me because I shoved the quarterback into a set of lockers and looked like the dead kid from Neptune High that blew up a bus and a plane. Then he told me his name, Will Harpner, and he said he liked my hair."

"I like your hair too. The blue is nice. So I guess that means you missed me."

"And you don't miss a beat, do you Cindy," he says with a smile and drops a kiss to her temple, but he still notices the wheels turning in her head, and asks, "What is it?"

"The bus and the plane. We'll have to talk about it some time to get back to making things right between us," she says softly and closes her eyes when he winces.

He nods slowly. "I know, but not right now. Let's just let things go as they are, and we'll get into it when I'm ready to face it. Look I know it was stupid and I was wrong, and I never meant for things to get so out of hand, for all those people to get hurt. You can't imagine how sorry I really am, but I can't talk about it, not in detail. Not yet."

"Okay, but remember, we will have to talk about it eventually."

"I know," he whispers, and drops another kiss on her temple, and then he tugs on her hand until she stands up. They end up in his living room, watching some old sitcom rerun, and talking about his classes.

* * *

Veronica is staring at the screen of her laptop, still feeling guilty over giving Mac the address to the silent partner of the Phoenix Land Trust. Maybe she should have warned Mac before sending the girl off to confront those issues. Cassidy Banks, as he is calling himself, looks too much like Beaver for it all to be some huge coincidence, especially considering that they both had the same first name.

She shakes her head, and mentally scolds herself for her conspiracy theories, but she can't shake the fact that it's still a little too convenient. Kendall's long lost son coming out of the woodwork, looking exactly like Beaver and having the same name. It's too much for her comfort.

Still she saw Beaver jump, saw the body before they stuffed it, like a broken doll, into the body bag, and she was at his funeral. Her brain is telling her that Cassidy Casablancas is dead, but her gut is saying otherwise, and she may have just sent her friend into a lion's den of all things truly screwed up, and Mac so doesn't need this, not now, not ever.

She moves her finger across the little mouse pad on her laptop and the screensaver, an old picture of her and Lilly disappears in a flash and she's staring at the website that provides pretty good background checks. Her fingers glide across the screen as she types in the name: Priscilla Banks.

A moment later she is taken to a screen. She scrolls down and her eyes widen as she scrolls to the bottom and finds a name at the bottom of the screen, with a little blurb of information.

Banks, Casey (changed to Banks, Cassidy, 1990)

Born April 9, 1989

Swallowing thickly, Veronica enters a new search and her eyes widen as she reads over the information she discovers.

He lived with an aunt, Phoebe Hawkins in Dallas, Texas for a couple of years, and then he was handed off to an uncle in Phoenix, Arizona when he was four. There's not much after that except for an arrest in Seattle for driving without a license, and he was brought in for suspicion of possession in LA a little over ten months ago.

She is surprised that his story is panning out the way he told it. She can hardly believe that Kendall Casablancas, also known as Priscilla Banks actually gave birth, but the record of the kid she had is right there on the computer screen in front of her. She does a few more searches on the net in other places, but she can't find anything more recent on Cassidy Banks than when he was brought in for possession in LA, but the charges had been dropped, though there wasn't an explanation as to why.

She closes the screen on the laptop, and looks up with a start when she hears a knock against the door. She plasters a smile on her face as Logan strides into Mars Investigations, and her smile becomes genuine as he shifts his gaze to the stained glass windows for a moment and winces. He then turns his full attention to her and says, "So tiny blonde one, what are you up to?"

"Who me? Do I look like I'm up to something?" she asks with an innocent smile on her face as she bats her eyelashes at him.

He chuckles and lifts an eyebrow at her. "That only works on the masses Mars, now are you going to spill, or will I have to tickle it out of you?"

"Depends, are you bringing out the handcuffs and the feather this time?" she asks in a sugary tone.

"I won't use the handcuffs unless you relent and tell me now," he threatens.

"Fine," she says with a pout and then continues on a more serious note. "This guy who's claiming to be Kendall's long lost kid. There is something off with him, and I just gave Mac his address."

"What?" he asks in bewilderment. "You gave Ghost World his address. Are you out of your mind? She dated Beaver and that guy is a dead ringer for him!"

"I know, and don't call her that. Her name is Mac," she says. "She wanted to know who was responsible for Kendall offering her the job working on the Phoenix Land Trust website. It turns out that it's Kendall's kid. I didn't even warn her about what he looked like. God she's going to kill me the next time she sees me. I mean I told her she probably shouldn't go, but like that would have stopped her."

"Trouble sure knows how to find you, Sugarpuss," Logan says, and she gets up, walks over to him, and wraps her arms around his waist. He wraps his arms around her in turn and holds her, just because she looks like she needs to be held.

"So what are you not telling me?" he asks.

She sighs as she pulls back from his embrace, and looks up at him, still surprised that she can't get anything by him. "I ran a background check on him, and his story adds up, about the places where he's lived, and Kendall did have a kid, a son on April 9th, 1989. So he's about Beaver's age. Although, his original name was Casey Banks, it was changed a year later, but I don't know why."

"That's kind of weird," Logan replies. "Why change his name after a year?"

"My thoughts exactly," Veronica answers and then returns to her chair behind her desk while Logan takes a seat in one of the chairs across from her.

* * *

Please review!


	4. FOUR

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Four:

He's in the living room, lying on the couch, his arm behind his head, and he's staring up at the ceiling, watching the shadows shift and change. He's starting to drift off to sleep when he hears a whimper that he can't ignore. Then he hears his name, and she's screaming.

"No, please. Don't. Don't jump, please."

He can't stand how her voice is pleading as she begs. He's down the hall in seconds, throws his bedroom door open and sees Mac thrashing in his bed. She's tangle in the covers, tears trailing her face, and from her expression it looks like her heart is breaking. He grabs her wrists, and climbs on top of her, straddling her so that she can't hurt herself. He pushes her wrists down and holds them next to her head.

He leans down, nuzzles her cheek with his nose, and breathes in her scent, bamboo, lilies, lavender, caramel and Mac. He's shushing her and whispering next to her ear. "It's okay, Cindy, I'm right here, wake up. Come on, wake up."

Her body isn't fighting him anymore as she shifts her head. She's relaxing as her eyes begin to flutter open and he's breathless as he's lost staring into her wide blue eyes.

"Hi," she says quietly, a guilty expression on her face because she thinks she woke him up, and then her face floods with color as she notices their position.

He blushes as he notices too, and slowly he lets go of her wrists. He shifts so that he's kneeling beside her on his bed, the mattress dipping beneath his knees. He pushes her hair back from her face, and decides that looking at his bookshelves is a good idea, because he doesn't know what to say.

He's about to get off the bed and head back to the couch when he feels her hand slip into his and give it a squeeze before she asks him, "Stay with me?"

He could get whiplash, he's turning his head so fast to look at her. She's giving him a sheepish smile, and then her fingers are gliding up his cheek and into his hair. He leans into her touch, grateful that she's still willing to touch him, because he knows he doesn't deserve it, any of this, her.

Soon he's lying down in his bed, with her, and it's kind of awkward, like graduation night. He's breathing shallowly, unsure of where to put his hands, and he's stiff as a board, and he's starting to feel a familiar stirring in his stomach and lower. He really hopes that it doesn't come to that, because he doubts Mac is ready to confront this part of their relationship, whatever it is.

She scoots over, and drapes an arm across his t-shirt covered chest, and lets her head rest against his shoulder. He brings his arm around her and draws her closer. He shifts his head so that he's looking at her, and he gives her a small smile as she looks up at him, and then he asks, "Want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head. "No, it's all right. You're right here with me, and that's what matters."

He gives a single nod, and he's fairly sure that he knows what she was dreaming about, and it breaks his heart a little bit to know that he's the reason she has nightmares. He presses a kiss to her forehead, and she runs her fingers along his ribs, and her touch is burning, even through the fabric of his t-shirt. He wonders if he should tell her as much. Before he can give voice to his thoughts however, she's speaking.

"It doesn't seem fair that I'm sleeping in your bed and you're on the couch. Don't you have a guest room? I mean what is that room across from the bathroom for? Is it a closet or something?"

"It's the guestroom. I haven't gotten around to furnishing it yet, because I wasn't sure when I would be up to allowing Dick to crash here. Waking up to drunk Dick is never fun," he says with a smile.

"I can imagine."

He chuckles. "Especially when he is lamenting over Madison fucking Lamb."

"What? Madison Sinclair and Sheriff Lamb?" Mac says with a start and she sits up to look at him.

He shrugs, and then gives her a curious look. "Yeah, and why does that interest you?"

"No reason in particular," she says, avoiding the issue of the Sinclairs in general.

"So," he says, sensing that a change in subject is desired. "Are you okay with me staying in here tonight?"

"I asked you to stay, didn't I?" she replied.

"Fair enough. But what about tomorrow? You know it's Saturday tomorrow, we could go out and get some things for the room. I'll let you decorate it since it's yours now," he says with a smile and he hisses a little when her fingers find a particularly ticklish spot near his stomach.

She smiles. "I get to decorate it, huh?"

"Of course, and it's all yours whenever you want to stay," he says with a decisive nod.

"But what if I like this bed?" she asks him playfully.

"Then I'll pick the bed for your room," he chuckles.

"I like this bed with you in it. This is nice, being here with you, and since you haven't given much thought to decorating the guestroom, then maybe it shouldn't be a guestroom," she replies logically.

"Okay," he says, unsure of where the conversation is going. "What should it be then?"

She takes his hand and guides it beneath her t-shirt and presses it gently to her slightly swelling stomach. "I was thinking maybe a nursery?"

"You're always saying you're smarter than me," he says, and swallows against the emotion building in his throat, and he's bending down pressing a kiss to her mouth, wondering why she could possibly be giving him this chance as she opens her mouth to his and responds. When he pulls back he continues, "And I'm starting to believe you."

* * *

"So are we ready to go?" Cassidy asks as he rubs his hands together in excitement.

Mac chuckles as she looks at him and says, "You look like a kid waiting to go to the toy store for the first time."

"Yeah, so are we ready?" he asks again, and then there is a steady banging on his door. He winces and groans as he says, "And what is he doing here? He's never awake before one in the afternoon on a Saturday."

He opens the door and Dick is standing there, with coffee and donuts. He's bright eyed and bushy tailed and he looks a little let down as he picks up on Cassidy and Mac looking like they're about to go out. Mac takes pity on him and gives him an affectionate pat on the shoulder. Dick gives her a kind of awkward look, and Mac is wondering why she's making the effort as she says, "We're going shopping to get some ideas on what to do with the spare room, you know since there is the baby to consider. We're thinking about making it into a nursery. You want to come?"

Cassidy's eyes widen as he looks at her, his expression clearly stating, 'You are CRAZY, this is DICK you are talking to!'

She shrugs, and then she thinks maybe Cassidy has a point as a slow smile spreads across Dick's face and he's dropped his arm around her shoulder and says, "Aw, Mackie, how sweet, already hitting up on Uncle Dick to spoil the kid rotten!"

If he calls her 'Mackie' again, she really will be doing the hitting, and perhaps some kicking to prevent him from ever dreaming of breeding. Cassidy, sensing that Mac is not pleased with the nickname Dick has bestowed on her cuts in, puts his arm around her waist, and they step out into the hall. He locks his door behind them and they go down to the parking lot. Cassidy notices Dick's silver SUV, and shakes his head before he heads to his blue Kia Sportage and Mac follows. Dick decides he'll ride with them.

Once in the car there is a discrepancy over music. Dick wants to listen to the radio, and Mac would rather listen to Stevie Nicks, which is already in the CD player. Since Cassidy is driving and he's more apt to side with Mac than his brother, Stevie Nicks wins out, and unfortunately Dick is not one to suffer in silence, as "Bombay Sapphires" fills the car.

Much to the relief of all three they are pulling up into the mall's parking lot. Mac has never been so relieved to be at the mall in all of her life, as long as it's anywhere that is not in a car with Dick bitching and moaning over what's on the radio.

Their first stop is in the Babies R' Us. Mac and Cassidy are drawn to the area where cribs and bed sets are set up. Mac is thinking of going with a neutral color, maybe green or yellow, with a nice golden mahogany color for the furniture. She's found a basinet that is lined with green and it's got a teddy bear sitting in the middle of it, and she smiles as she looks at it, wondering what it will be like to look down at her baby nestled under a soft blanket cuddling up with a teddy bear.

Cassidy comes up behind her and puts his arms around her waist, his fingers twining protectively over her stomach as he presses a kiss to her cheeks and looks down at the bassinet she's got her eye on. She runs her fingers along the edge of the bassinet, and he asks, "So what are you thinking about?"

"Colors," she says. "I don't want pink or blue, it's too cliché. I like the idea of green or yellow, especially since we don't exactly know what we're expecting."

"I've always liked green," he says with a shrug. "And we don't have to commit to anything now, this is mostly just to get ideas, and sort of take baby steps into getting ready for this. I mean this is huge, but we have some time before we absolutely have to have everything ready, right?"

Before she can say anything Dick pops up from out of nowhere with the loudest, brightest, noisiest thing in the store. He holds the swirling, blinking, noisy toy in front of them, and he's looking at the thing, and playing with it, and he has the hugest grin on his face as he says, "This is so the radest thing in the store! I'm totally buying it for the little bun in the oven."

Cassidy is gawking at his brother, amazed that his brother is so entertained by a baby toy, and Mac is biting her tongue, trying hard not to laugh as Dick continues to mess with any moving part of the toy, and push all the buttons on the thing. She chooses to ignore the bun in the oven comment for now.

Once they get over the spectacle of Dick running around and playing with all the toys in the store they start looking at clothes, and Dick shakes his head and looks at the two of them, insisting that they are so stopping by the Baby Gap before the day is over. Mac exchanges a look with Cassidy. He just shakes his head as he is not so secretly blaming her for them being stuck with Dick on this shopping trip.

Nearly two hours pass when Mac finally insists on taking a much-needed break. They end up at the food court. Mac sits down at a table, and Dick takes a seat beside her while Cassidy runs over to the Orange Julius to get them something to drink.

At the sound of a throat clearing Mac looks up and sees Veronica looking from her to Dick in confusion and taking a seat in the other chair next to Mac. Logan shows up a moment later and takes the other seat next to Dick, and he looks as confused as Veronica.

"Hi, Mac," Veronica says and then looks over at Dick, and continues, "So how are things, and what is going on?"

Before Mac can answer, Cassidy is back with their drinks and he stops in his tracks at the sight of Veronica and Logan at the table with Dick and Mac.

"I see you've met the guy responsible for your current job. So again, what is going on?" Veronica asks.

"Someone's being a little nosey," Dick says and looks pointedly at Veronica.

"We're just hanging out," Mac says.

"Right, like you normally hang out at a mall with Dick," Logan replies and then he looks down at the bag that's at Dick's feet and his eyes widen as he looks at Dick and then says, "Hey man, who did you knock up?"

Mac turns beat red, and Logan's mouth falls open as Veronica stares at Mac in shock. Cassidy sets the drinks down on the table and then he's kneeling in between Mac and Dick and his arm is around Mac's shoulder, giving her support and making her feel safe.

Veronica and Logan exchange a look for a moment and then they are collecting themselves as they just stare at Mac. Dick breaks the silence in true Dick fashion.

"The bun in her oven is going to be calling me Uncle Dick in a few months."

"Wow," Logan says, unsure of what else to say.

"Oh, Mac," Veronica says, as she looks at her friend, and then narrows her eyes on the dark eyed boy with his arm around her shoulder. She still doesn't trust him. She shifts her gaze back to Mac as she continues, "Congratulations. I…uh, how long have you known?"

"A few weeks now," Mac replies awkwardly and she begins to fidget nervously.

"And Dick knows before I do?" Veronica asks pointedly.

"I kind of found out by accident, but I'm the bun's Uncle, what are you, Ronnie?" Dick says defensively.

"I'm Mac's friend," Veronica replies.

"Will you please stop referring to the baby as a bun?" Cassidy says through clenched teeth as he glares at his brother.

"Oh come on Cass. I can't call her Mackie, I can't call the bun a bun, Dude, it's not like you've discussed names or anything," Dick says.

"Wait, you two are going out? But the kid can't be yours," Logan says as he looks from Cassidy to Mac, and Mac looks firmly at the table, and Logan winces and rubs his arm shortly after Veronica's fist makes sharp contact with it. "What? I'm just stating the obvious."

"Jackass," Veronica hisses.

Logan rolls his eyes, and Mac finally speaks up to avoid witnessing a fight between Logan and Veronica. "You can pretty much guess who the father is," she whispers.

Veronica reaches out and covers up one of Mac's moving hands and gives it a squeeze. "I'm sorry, Mac, this has got to be really hard for you."

"Actually, it's not. I mean it's kind of scary. I never thought I'd have a baby, especially right out of high school. I always figured that would be something that Madison Sinclair did. I'm okay with it, and what I had with Cassidy, before everything came out. It's not a bad thing, Veronica. This, now, I wouldn't change it if it meant that I wouldn't have known Cassidy the way I did then. I don't expect you to understand, but I did love him, I still do," she says softly, and Cassidy takes her other hand.

Veronica gives a nod and a few minutes later, her and Logan are on their way. Veronica looks over her shoulder as Cassidy Banks takes the seat that she'd previously occupied, and then she turns to Logan and says, "Something isn't right. How can he do that, take advantage of her when she's obviously emotionally vulnerable? And why is she shopping with him and Dick? I can only imagine what Dick is probably like in a baby store, actually I'd rather not."

"I get what you mean, but V, he seemed protective of her. I mean he got all defensive when Dick referred to the baby as a bun, and they seem pretty comfortable together. What can you do? You can't save everyone Mars."

"I still don't trust him, and this isn't like Mac. I think she took Beaver's death a lot harder than I thought, but getting involved with a practical stranger just because he looks like Beaver unless…oh God."

"This sounds interesting. What is going on inside of that pretty blonde head of yours, Sugarpuss?" Logan asks, and looks down at Veronica, waiting for her answer.

He isn't disappointed when she says, "What if Cassidy Banks is really Cassidy Casablancas and Mac and Dick know. Of course they'll cover for him since they care about him, and with Mac in her current condition. Oh my God, I knew there was something about him. But why would Mac… She's not stupid, and she knows what he did to me, what he did to the people on the bus and the plane… Why?"

Logan pulls Veronica close and presses a kiss to her forehead. "If Cassidy Banks really is Beaver, and she knows it, she just told you why. She's going to have his baby and she still loves him. So what do we do about this? If you bring this up with Lamb I doubt he'll believe you, and it'll destroy your friend and Dick."

"But he'll get away with everything. He's killed people, and he raped me. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with it," Veronica replies, her voice filled with conviction.

"Are you willing to hurt your friend on a hunch? I mean his story does pan out as far as we know."

"You've seen him, the way he acts. Do you honestly think he's not Beaver?"

Logan sighs. "I think you're right, he is Beaver, but again, are you willing to hurt your friend? And what about the baby?"

"You saw him on the roof. What kind of father do you think he'll be?"

"We won't know until the time comes. Do you remember him on the ledge? He was scared and hurt, he was just a kid who'd been picked on, used, and abused all of his life. Maybe he's trying to make up for it. He really seems protective of her, and maybe the reason he took her clothes was to make sure she wouldn't find her way up to that roof, so that he would know she was safe. He was scared and hurt and lashing out. I'm not saying that what he was doing was right or wrong, but I kind of get it. He was desperate and stupid, and what he did to you, it makes me want to hurt him, but I can't help feeling sorry for him, knowing what he went through with Woody Goodman and all. So maybe we should just wait it out for a while and see what happens. Mac isn't stupid, she wouldn't be with him right now if she didn't trust him," Logan says, and Veronica hates the fact that she sees logic in his words.

She decides to bide her time for now, but she will be watching Cassidy Banks like a hawk. There's too much on the line for her not to watch him.

* * *

"You know for a small person, you totally eat a lot. Just because they say it's all you can eat, doesn't mean you can clean out the restaurant," Dick says, and Mac saddles him with a glare, before she perks up at the sight of a convenience store and asks Cassidy to stop.

"Why? We're not that far from home if you have to go to the bathroom," he says.

"Pickles. We don't have pickles," she replies, as though this explains everything.

Dick gives her a confused look and asks, "Why would we want pickles?"

"Not for you, idiot, for me," she replies shortly, and both Dick and Cassidy are surprised with the bite in her voice.

"But, dude, you totally polished off the entire salad bar, and you're still hungry?" he asks incredulously.

Mac rolls her eyes, as she says, "I don't want them."

"Then why are we stopping?" Dick asks, completely lost.

"For the baby, Dick," Cassidy answers.

"But they don't sell baby stuff in there, do they?" Dick is scratching his head at this point.

"No," Mac sighs, and Cassidy takes it from there, "But they have pickles."

Cassidy parks in front of the Sac N' Pac, and hurries out of the car, to get the pickles. Maybe if he's lucky Dick will attempt to figure out why they need pickles silently. If he isn't so lucky, maybe Kendall and some of her people can help him stash the body, because he's beginning to notice that Mac has a bit of a temper, especially with Dick, who can wear down even Ghandi's patience.

The bell over the door tinkles as he steps inside the store. He walks down the aisles, and finds the pickles. He also grabs some chips, pretzels, and a pint of chocolate ice cream for Dick, as Dick has voiced a complaint over finding sherbet and only sherbet ice cream in the freezer. It's not like he lives with them, but he's a constant in the apartment.

He drops everything on the counter and reaches back to his wallet. He's grabs a twenty and when he looks up he realizes that the cashier hasn't rung anything up. Instead the cashier is staring at him, with his mouth hanging open and his dark eyes wide. Cassidy looks at the guy's nametag and then it registers. Wallace Fennel, former star basketball player of Neptune High and Veronica Mars' friend. He's heard Mac talk about him on occasion, even met the guy a couple of times, and now he's being gawked at by him.

"Uh, I kind of need to go before the ice cream melts," Cassidy says softly, and Wallace closes his mouth as he rings him up, but it doesn't stop him from staring.

Wallace hands him his change and then snatches his hand back at the physical contact with Cassidy's hand. Cassidy gives him a quick nod before he drops his change in his pocket and takes the bags. He's walking out of the door, when he hears the familiar nickname that he hates so much, Beaver. He stiffens for a moment, then he jerks the door open and almost runs to his car.

Wallace watches him go, and his mouth falls open again as he realizes that Mac is in the passenger seat of the boy's car. He could have sworn that was Cassidy Casablancas, or Beaver as he was known, but that can't be right. Beaver is dead. Veronica and Logan saw him jump off of the roof of the Neptune Grand, it made the news, and there had been a funeral. He then shudders at the thought of the guy buying pickles and ice cream, and he can't help wondering as his thoughts turn toward Mac and he decides that he really needs to talk to Veronica again, real soon.

* * *

"I never thought she'd stop eating, and how can you dip pickles into anything that tastes like raspberries?" Dick asks with a wince as his thumb works the joystick on his controller and his player is totally kung-fuing the shit out of some bad guy, blood spurting out of the bad guy's head with every hit.

Cassidy shrugs, and shudders a little, because he has to admit deep down, he kind of agrees with Dick on pickles and anything raspberry flavored just not mixing, meshing, or otherwise coming into contact with one another. "I don't know, but it's not like she can help it. She didn't just one day wake up pregnant. It's not entirely her fault."

Dick grunts, and then the bad dude's head is flying across the screen and he is victorious again. He shifts his gaze to Cassidy for a moment with a small smile and messes up Cassidy's hair. Cassidy drops his controller and works to fix his hair as Dick says, "And I never would have thought my baby brother would knock up a chick before I did!"

Cassidy sighs as his player dies. His mind isn't on the game, it's on Mac sleeping in his bedroom, and it's on the baby growing inside of her. He still can't grasp that fact that she's giving him this chance, and that she wants this baby. He wonders where she finds the strength. He only hopes he can stumble across her secret, because he's scared shitless. This is a huge responsibility, and yes, he's been responsible for most of his life, but he's fucked up majorly too.

"Dick, I don't know if I'm ready for this. I mean, look at me, the things I've done. How can I possibly deserve any of this, and what do I say when this kid is old enough to ask questions? How do I teach them right and wrong when I've done so many things wrong?" Cassidy asks, and his voice is thick with guilt and fear.

Dick lets out a long breath as his player dies, but he continues on with the game, as Cassidy continues, "How am I supposed to care for a baby? I mean I'm going to be a father before I graduate, and I hardly qualify. I don't want to screw up my kid's life. I can't tell this to Cindy, either. She'll finally come to her senses and she'll leave, and I'll lose everything all over again."

A sucker punch from the bad guy causes Dick to lose another life, and he's getting annoyed. He hits the pause button on his controller, looks at Cassidy and says, "Dude, if you want to talk, say so, but don't just rattle on and on and distract me into getting killed. That's kind of cheating and not cool. Logan's bad about that too, man."

"So does that mean you were listening to me?" Cassidy asks, surprise evident in his voice.

"I died didn't I?" Dick points out, and Cassidy shrugs at Dick's simple logic, but now he's at a loss for what to say, so Dick continues, "And let me get this straight, you go out shopping to look at baby clothes, put up with me playing with all the shiny, loud toys, which are way awesome by the way, and now you're having daddy issues. Man, you got to get your head on straight. Either you want this or you don't. Going into baby stores with Ghost World means you want it. She wouldn't be here if you didn't want it. I know we don't know much about the whole family thing what with Mom and Dad being all fucked up, but we aren't them."

Cassidy's eyes bug out as he realizes that Dick is actually being profound for once. He shakes his head and stares at his brother in shock. Dick grins at him. "Yo, you know I like to catch Oprah, man, but seriously, you'll be fine. I mean if Mac can trust you after everything, and kind of forgive you, then you just got to, you know, do the trust and forgiveness thing for you. You know trust yourself, and forgive yourself. Shit, you're making me go all emo. You tell anyone this and I swear I'll kick the shit out of you, or force you into surfing."

"Well what would you do?" Cassidy asks, genuinely curious.

Dick laughs. "Honestly? I'd totally shit myself and get as wasted as possible. The thing to ask though, isn't what I would do, but what you're going to do."

Cassidy can hardly believe that he's having this conversation with Dick of all people and Dick is being supportive and even insightful. Cassidy sees this as a sign that the world may be coming to an end.

* * *

Please review!


	5. FIVE

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Five:

Veronica is tapping a pencil against her desk as her thoughts wander about. This is a habit that annoys her father to no end, just like right about now. He's fixing a cup of coffee, and the damn tapping of that pencil is really starting to grate on his nerves. He swears that he just can't take much more of it.

Finally he finds himself standing in front of her desk and then he snatches the pencil from her grasp as he calmly takes a sip of coffee, pleased that the incessant tapping has finally ceased. His daughter looks up at him with a start, and he sees that something is bothering her.

"What is it honey?" he asks.

She draws in her bottom lip, and he knows that whatever she's about to hit him with is big, really big. To say that he's surprised by her question is an understatement. "Do you know who owns the Phoenix Land Trust?"

He looks down at her, and shrugs. "Not that I'm seeing a point here, but that would be Kendall Casablancas. She got everything when her stepson leapt off a building."

"Actually Dad, you're wrong. Kendall's son owns the majority shares of the Phoenix Land Trust, or he will once he's eighteen. His shares currently reside in a really nice trust fund that Kendall can't touch. She's just running things until he comes of age," Veronica replies.

Keith blinks. "What? How do you know this?"

"Because I've done a background check on him. You see I met him a couple of months ago, and he doesn't add up. I mean his story is straight, the way he told it, but there's just something, and Dad, if you saw him, you would just know. Now he's involved with Mac, and Mac is going along with it because she's vulnerable and hopeful and probably still messed up over graduation night and now with a baby…"

"Baby…?" Keith says, his voice rising in pitch. "How about you go back somewhere near the beginning and fill your old man in, and how did you find out Kendall had a kid?"

"Wait, what do you mean had?" Veronica asks.

"He's dead Veronica. She showed the certificate of death to me the day I missed our plane to New York. His name was Casey Banks, and he was involved in some drug related stuff in L.A. He was beaten to death. His body was found the day before you graduated, and then it disappeared. Now where are you going with this?"

"The most recent thing I found in his background check was some possession charge in L.A. and then the trust fund with the Phoenix Land Trust shares, and his name was changed to Cassidy in 1990," Veronica replies, and then she closes her eyes, because she knows the truth. "Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick."

She reaches for the wastebasket next to her desk and throws up, because she knows that she's right, that Cassidy Banks is Beaver. Before was mostly just speculation and conspiracy theories, but now here it is before her, her father has practically confirmed it. Cassidy Casablancas is very much alive, Mac knows it, is living with him, and is going to have his baby.

"Veronica, sweetie, what the hell is going on?" Keith asks in concern.

"Oh Daddy, I wish I could tell you," she whispers, as she wipes her mouth.

He rubs her back and pulls her into a hug as he says, "Of course you can. You can tell me anything. Start with why you think you met Casey Banks two months ago."

"His name is Cassidy Banks, and it's more complicated than that. Mac is pregnant and I found out a couple of days ago, and she's practically moved in with this guy who is claiming to be Kendall's long lost son, who owns a majority share in the company that Cassidy Casablancas started up. It's a lot of little things."

"Wait, are you saying that you think Cassidy Casablancas might actually be alive? But his body was identified at the scene, you saw him jump, you saw the body on Madison Sinclair's car. How can you fake jumping off of the tallest building in Neptune?" Keith asks.

"He's got the money and Kendall probably has the resources. What if it wasn't Cassidy's body we saw, but Casey's?"

"Then if you're right, and Cassidy Casablancas is alive, that means that Mac is in danger. She has to get away from this boy. Do you think she knows it's him?" Keith asks.

Veronica nods. "Yeah, but I've seen them together, and Dick was with them, and they seem so normal, and with the way he was acting around her, he was protective. He took up for her and the baby against his brother."

"Veronica, he blew up a bus full of kids and a plane, a plane that I was almost on."

"Believe me, I know. I know what he did, and I'm less likely to forgive him than you are, but this would hurt Mac, and if we took it to Lamb he'd laugh in our faces. There is a body in that grave, and people want it over and done with."

"And what about justice? We'll just have to get some concrete proof before we take this to Lamb. Once we have the proof then he'll have to follow up on it. It's still kind of hard to believe that a sixteen year old kid could fake his own death though."

"Almost as hard to believe as that same sixteen year old blowing up a bus full of teenagers, and then blowing up a plane to kill the man that molested him? He has the money, the brains, the motive, the anger, and the resources. He is definitely capable of it."

"But if he went through all of that trouble to get a new start, why did he stay in Neptune? He could have gone anywhere, taken any identity."

"Maybe he couldn't leave the people he cares about," Veronica replies.

"Come again. How are sociopaths capable of caring?" Keith asks.

"He didn't start out that way. Woody Goodman and his parents sort of pushed him into it. At first on that roof he was all rage, anger, hatred, cruelty. He wanted to hurt someone, and he did, he hurt me, Daddy, but those last few minutes, when he was on that ledge, he wasn't angry anymore, he was lost, scared, broken, and hopeless, and he just took a step back like it was inevitable and he wasn't on the verge of leaping to his death. I can't hate him completely when I remember how he looked on that ledge."

"So what do you want to do? I'm leaving this up to you. You know how I feel, I think he should face justice for what he's done, not get a new lease on life. He's killed people, and that changes a person. Do you honestly think Mac is safe with him, let alone a baby? When will he snap again? What's to stop him from hurting Mac, the baby, you? What? You think about that, Veronica, and I trust you to do the right thing, and I'll be here to help you when you need it, and I'll be keeping an eye on you and do I even need to tell you that I really don't want you around that kid?"

Veronica takes a deep breath. "Regret, and his conscience. I think we should keeping looking into this, and definitely watch him, but I don't know about turning him in. Look, I know how you feel about justice and people that get away with things, but with what I saw in his eyes, he's not getting away with it. He might not feel any remorse about blowing up Woody, and who can blame him there, but I think he regrets the other lives. He has to live with that every day. If he is someone that Mac trusts then maybe he is facing justice, and judging himself. This could make him a better person."

"And what right do you have to judge him?" Keith asks gently.

"I have more right than you'll ever know," Veronica whispers, as she closes her eyes against the fuzzy memories of Shelly Pomroy's party.

* * *

Slowly she opens her blue eyes with a groan of defeat and shakes her head. This is getting ridiculous. She's never peed so often in her life, but she's never been pregnant before either. She lets out a small sigh and carefully slips out of bed and away from the warmth of Cassidy's arms. She stands in the doorway of the bedroom for a moment, a small smile on her face as she sees him curled up in the bed, he looks so innocent, and sweet, and peaceful.

She goes into the bathroom, takes care of business, and then she finds herself gazing into the mirror. She notices a blemish on her nose and sighs. Such is the curse of pregnancy, or so she's read. A few minutes later she is walking barefoot down the hall. She pauses at the door to the bedroom, her brow furrowed as she hears whimpering from inside.

She slowly opens the door, wondering what's going on. She only left him for a few minutes, how can things change from innocent, sweet, and peaceful so quickly, she doesn't know, but they have.

She is frozen in the doorway as he says things, his voice filled with pain, anguish, sorrow, remorse. Her heart is breaking as she watches him writhe in the bed, getting tangled in the covers, as he pleads.

"Please, I didn't mean for it to happen the way it did. Meg, I'm so sorry. I didn't know… Peter, just turn around, look at me. He hurt us all, and you were bringing it all back. It hurt, and Marcos how could you go along with Peter? We swore we'd never tell. Please, just look at me."

His body is flushed and glistening with sweat, and Mac sucks in a deep breath. She can't take anymore. She's shaking him awake, and his eyes fly open as he sits up, gasping for air like a drowning man. He looks around him wildly, and then his arms are around her, and he's clinging to her, his face buried against her neck and shoulder, and she feels his burning tears against her skin as he sobs.

He's hurt, and broken, and sorry. More than anything he's sorry, and her heart is aching for him. She closes her eyes and tears slip down her face as she slowly begins to rock his shaking body as he begs and pleads and says, over and over again, that he's sorry.

She isn't sure how long they are like this on the bed, holding each other. She takes in a deep breath when she feels his shift in mood, and he slowly pulls back from her. His eyes are dark, desperate, and red rimmed, his hair wild, his face blotchy, and his breathing is ragged. He only holds her gaze for a moment before he's staring down at the bed, and his words chill her to the bone.

"How can you stand to look at me, let alone touch me, knowing what I've done?" he asks, and his voice is cracking.

"Because I know that isn't you anymore. You're Cassidy again. You're the boy I fell in love with. I want you to see that as much as I see it," she whispers softly and reaches out to touch him, but he jerks away from her, and she pulls her hand back, stunned and hurt by his sudden movement.

"I've killed people, Cindy. I didn't mean for all of them to die. I really don't think I meant for any of them to die, but once I hit the send button it was too late. I wasn't really thinking until I'd already done it, and then I had to hide the fact that I did it, and then finding out that Meg had survived and was in a coma and pregnant… And now being with you and knowing that there is a part of me growing inside of you, I can't help thinking about Meg never watching her daughter grow up, and it's because of me. None of those people on that bus will have what I have with you now, and that is because of me."

She reaches out and this time her fingers touch his cheek, and he's leaning into her touch, and then he's looking at her again, and his eyes are confessing his every fear to her. "I can't tell you that it wasn't your fault. We both know you did that, but trust me when I say that I know you aren't that boy anymore. I need you to know that. I've had a lot of time to think about the person that people tried to convince me you were, and you hurt me when you took my clothes and I almost believed them, but then I remembered how you were when we were together, how you are now. You can't be that other person, that evil person, you never were that person, you were just scared, hurt, desperate and going along with the only way you saw out of a bad situation. Yes it was the wrong thing to do, but you know that, and you are sorry, and while it doesn't change anything, you regret it, you have remorse; you beat yourself up over it constantly. You wouldn't do that to yourself if you weren't the Cassidy that I know. The Cassidy that I love."

He tries to turn away from her intense gaze again, but this time she isn't letting him. She leans forward and presses her mouth against his, coaxing him into a kiss, and he's slowly kissing her back.

When she pulls back she looks at him with acceptance and love in her eyes and says, "I know what you've done, Cassidy Casablancas, and I still love you. I won't ever judge you for it, and I won't stop loving you because of it. I'm not telling you to let go of it, but I am asking you, begging, in fact, to move on, because you can't undo it, you can only move on and try to make up for it by being a better person."

"How can you believe in me?" he asks her in bewilderment.

She gives him a small smile. "Because I know you, the real you. Let me show you," she whispers, and then her hand is against his cheek and she's kissing him again, and then she asks him something that makes his eyes widen in shock, and his mouth go dry.

"Make love to me, Cassidy, please?"

He's breathing heavily as her lips meet his again, and he feels heat pooling in his stomach as he becomes aroused, but then he's pulling back and asking, "What about the baby?"

She rolls her eyes and almost glares at him. "I've read the books, it's okay up until the third trimester, and I'm pregnant, not dead."

"O-okay," he stutters nervously, and this time he's the one that initiates the kiss, and then his hands are shaking as they slip beneath her t-shirt and glide over the slight bump of her stomach, and then up along her ribs until his finger tips are grazing her breasts. She moans when his hands glide over her breasts, and her nipples harden at the contact. She lets her head fall back, as he lifts her shirt away and looks at her.

She's staring at him; her eyes glowing with want and need. Suddenly she is tugging at his shirt and pulling it over his head, and they are facing each other, until finally he leans forward, his lips press against the corner of her mouth and then trail down her chin, neck, collarbone, and then his mouth is on her breast, and she's whimpering as heat begins to coil in the pit of her stomach and flood throughout her sensitive body.

She needs to touch him, her hands glide up his chest, her fingers ghosting across his ribs as he moves to her other nipple, gently licking and suckling, and the sensation is more than she is expecting. Her hands somehow find their way into his hair, and she pulls him back and her mouth is crashing down on his before she pulls back, panting, and then she makes her demand.

"I need you inside of me, now."

He is surprised by her bluntness, but there isn't any awkwardness like there was before on graduation night. He looks slightly embarrassed and mentions something about not having a condom.

She shakes her head at the absurdity of the comment, and he can't help the wry smile that tugs at his mouth as he gets it too, and then he's pulling his pajama pants and boxers down. She looks at him and takes in a nervous breath, and he's leaning over her, kissing her gently, unsure of where this confidence is coming from as he guides her down on the bed. His fingers curl around her pajama bottoms and panties and he slips them down her legs, his hands sliding down her skin along with the material, and his touch makes her skin burn, and she wants more.

He slowly makes his way back up her body. His hand finds its way between her legs and he dips a finger inside of her as their mouths collide, and he loves how her moans are caught in his mouth as she arches up against him. He adds another finger, and then he pulls his hand back as he breaks away from the kiss. He holds his hand between them, and they both see her juices glistening on his fingers. His dark eyes lock with hers as he slowly bends his head down and takes those fingers into his mouth, his eyes closing at the exquisite taste of her.

His eyes drift open at the sound of her whimpers, and when her hand wraps around him he freezes. He reaches down, takes her hand away, and as their eyes lock he guides himself into her. He moves slowly, afraid of hurting her. She shifts to accommodate him more easily, and he watches her face as she gasps and winces more than once as he fills her. He doesn't move until she smiles reassuringly at him and then he slowly pulls out, and it's sweet agony to her.

He is surprised when her hands suddenly find their way to his ass and she's urging him to increase his pace and soon she's moving with him. It's awkward at first until they find their rhythm, and then he's moving steadily within her, in and out.

The heat is building in waves, and she feels like she'll come apart at any moment, and then the coil that has been building and winding in her stomach suddenly unwinds and snaps and her body shudders as waves of pleasure roil through her, and her body closes around him. He buries himself deep within her, and his body is spasming as he comes, exploding within her, crying out her name.

It is with sheer force of will that he keeps himself from collapsing on top of her in exhaustion. He shifts as he slips out of her and falls down next to her. They are sweaty, and the room smells sweet and musky. He's resting his head on his elbow as he looks down at her, and her eyes lazily drift open as he wraps a strand of her dark hair around his finger.

"You should really considering putting the streaks back in your hair. I miss them," he says and presses a light kiss to the tip of her nose.

She chuckles as she shifts so their lips meet, and when they part she says, "I love you, too."

"I know," he whispers in response. "I know."

* * *

Please Review!


	6. SIX

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Six:

He has never realized what a luxury it is to sleep in your own bed until that week he's spent cramped on his couch. He realizes now that it is a greater luxury to wake up with similar aches and the girl he loves cuddled up against him in his…their bed. He smiles knowing that it is only a short matter of time before Mac decides to completely move in with him, but then he sighs as he realizes he won't be the one helping her move out, carrying boxes of her things from her old room at her parents' house to the car. It will most likely be Dick handling that honor, because Cassidy doesn't think her parents will approve of him, not until after graduation at least. New identity or not, he still looks the same.

He runs his fingers up and down Mac's ribs, until his hand finally settles over the small bump, and he wonders how long it will take before he can feel it moving against his hand. He's growing more used to this idea, and he likes it. His hand is still over her swelling stomach when she begins to stretch against him.

His dark eyes are on her face as she yawns, and her eyes pop open. She is blushing as she realizes that they are completely naked and last night wasn't another one of her really nice dreams. She looks up at him shyly, and he finds that he's blushing too.

"Hi," she whispers.

"Hi," he breathes back, and then he is breathless as she leans up and kisses him softly.

When she pulls back a laugh is bubbling out of her, and he really loves waking up to the sound, he can wake up to that sound every morning for the rest of his life, even with the prospect of morning breath kisses.

He shifts and glances at the alarm clock on his bedside table, and can't believe that it's so late. Eleven-thirty on a school day. He shrugs, because with Mac all nice and warm in his arms he could really care less. She looks at the clock and shakes her head.

"Someone is really late for school," she chides him playfully.

He grins up at her and says, "And I blame you, but you're so much better than Mr. Carpenter's history quiz, and I can always make it up later. Right now I'm completely happy."

"Wow, you missing out on academia for me. When did I become such a bad influence?" she asks, her voice is light.

He shrugs. "Really, I don't mind as long as you aren't wearing any clothes."

"I can handle that for now," she says, and gasps when his hands find their way to her breasts. He dips his head to her chest, and runs his tongue along the sensitive skin between her breasts, and he's starting to get aroused again, when there is a knock on his bedroom door, and it's thrown open.

He makes a mad scramble for the sheets to cover him and Mac before he throws a death glare in the direction of his bedroom door. He is hardly surprised to find Dick standing there gawking, with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Dude, I like never wanted to walk in on my little brother pre or post coital. I so need Doctor Phil for this one."

"Do you even know what coital means?" Mac snaps.

"It's that happy you get during and after sex?" Dick supplies, unsure of himself as he scratches his head.

Cassidy rolls his eyes and Mac looks at him and says, "Remind me again why you gave him a key to the apartment." She then turns a glare on Dick and snaps, "And will you please stop gawking and go do what you're good at? Any other time you'd be playing video games."

"Believe me, right now I totally wish I was," Dick replies, and it doesn't look like he's planning on going anywhere.

"Dick, if you don't leave right now, I WILL kick your ass," Cassidy threatens, and Dick gives him that patented 'whatever' look before he closes the door and retreats to the safety of the living room and the therapy that the X-Box provides.

With Dick finally not standing in the doorway, Mac says dryly, "So that wasn't even the least bit awkward."

Cassidy sighs as he sits up and pulls on his boxers from the night before, and then tugs his shirt on over his head. "I'll do damage control with the asshole, you get the first shower, okay?"

"Sure, but if I use up all the hot water, not a word," she replies with a slight grin.

"Deal," he replies and then he slips out of the room.

She wraps the sheet around her as she gathers some clean clothes from her overnight bag. She looks around his room, her eyes settling on the dresser, and she wonders what it would be like to share the dresser with him, to move in officially since she's already practically living with him now. Those thoughts and others dance rampant through her head as she makes a dash for the bathroom, and soon she is under the warm spray of the shower, and the hot water eases some of the aches from the night before.

* * *

Dick has died four times in the last ten minutes, granted the first time was from shock at walking in on his little brother almost having sex with Ghost World, the last three times are because he can't concentrate on his game, and that isn't like him. Finally he hits the pause button, tosses the offending controller to the floor and looks up at Cassidy, who has been staring at him for at least five minutes now.

"What?" Dick snaps impatiently, because nothing and no one comes between him and an X-Box.

Cassidy plays with his collar nervously and runs his hands through his blue streaked hair before he finally speaks. "Look, I don't want you to use this as ammo against Cindy. We're just starting to get back to the way things were before, and I don't want you fucking it up."

"I know you're happy, bro, and I like seeing it, just not seeing the why of it. Shit, man, if anyone told me I'd ever walk in on you having sex I would have died laughing on the spot! That was like so unexpected. I mean I thought you were sleeping on the couch! And like, she's pregnant… Wait, is it hotter with a bun in the oven?" Dick asks.

Cassidy rubs his temples and shakes his head. "You are completely unbelievable, Dick."

Dick shrugs. "I'm just asking for like posterior purposes or something. Whatever, you don't have to worry about me ragging her for it, but you. Dude, I am so not ever letting you live it down."

"Thanks," he groans out, and then he's half-heartedly fighting off his older brother as Dick tackles him and starts in on the noogies.

When Dick finally lets him go, and settles back down on the couch with his controller, he eyes Cassidy pointedly. Cassidy sighs as Dick restarts the game and soon they are playing against each other, and Dick is grinning as he says, "I'm so going to kick your ass."

Cassidy just shrugs and then a huge smile crosses his face as he hits the triangle button, throws a massive punch and knocks Dick's head off. He shifts his gaze at Dick and is proud to see the slack jawed expression on his older brother's face.

Dick shakes away his bewilderment, looks at his brother for a moment, before his fingers are a blur on his controller as he starts in on a new life and in a menacing tone says, "I'm so getting you for that. It was a total cheap shot."

"Keep telling yourself that," Cassidy says, as he gets completely engrossed in the game with his brother.

* * *

Cassidy sighs as he looks down at his lunch tray. At least at Neptune the 09ers had the option of ordering out, here he is made to suffer. Some of the perks he really misses. He decides to eat what he recognizes, the tater tots. He smiles as he remembers how Mac used to complain about tater tots at Neptune. After a moment a somewhat short blonde boy, who's lanky and lean, with green highlights in his hair, joins him at his table.

He looks up and nods in acknowledgement at the boy, and he notices curiosity in the boy's hazel eyes. "So, Cass, man what happened to you yesterday, and when are we going to ever hang out after school? I mean I only see you during school, and then you're zooming out of the parking lot to who knows where. Leading some kind of double life or something?" he asks with a chuckle, and he's surprised at the serious expression in Cassidy's dark eyes.

"What if I am, Will?" Cass asks, and then he laughs it off. "I had something I had to do yesterday. I mostly spent the day with my girlfriend and my brother."

"Brother?" Will asks in confusion.

Cassidy shrugs and amends with, "Stepbrother. You know, Dick Casablancas."

"Uh, you do know it was his kid brother that blew up that Neptune bus and that plane, right?"

"Yeah, I know, believe me."

"So you miss school for a girlfriend you don't ever talk about and for a richie rich kid from the 09er zip? Spill."

"Her name is Cindy, and we're just getting back together. We kind of had a break up a few months ago, so we're… Okay we aren't taking things slow. She's practically living with me now. I'm trying to think of how to get her to move in with me officially, especially now that we're discussing what we're going to do with the spare room in the apartment, but Dick will have to be the one to help her get her stuff from her parents, because they wouldn't be all that happy to see me, even though they don't know yet."

"Know what?"

"That she's going to have a baby."

Will's eyes widen and he stares at Cassidy in awe. "You got a girl pregnant, and she's living with you?"

"It happens. She's amazing too, she's taking all of her classes electronically and she puts up with Dick all day while I'm at school, and I don't know, it's like the family I've always wanted. It's nice, and Dick isn't as bad as I thought he was."

"His name is Dick, I think that explains everything about him, and she's in college?" Will says.

Cassidy laughs. "Yeah, and well, if you want to meet them you can follow me home after school, and she goes to Hearst. I'd love to see someone kick Dick's ass at Mortal Kombat, and Cindy's been interested in meeting my new friend. I hope you don't mind veggies though, Cindy's a vegan."

"It's cool, so is my sister."

Their conversation takes a swing towards normal when Jack Abrams, the quarterback comes up to their table, and looks at the two of them before he bends down and gets in Cassidy's face. "Aww, how sweet, the new kid has himself a little boyfriend. Is he a keeper? That why you slam me into the lockers last week, to cop a feel or to defend your little bitch right here?"

"Excuse me?" Cassidy asks and slowly rises from the table.

"Oh come on, you know that's why he's always sitting by himself, well at least until you came along," Jack replies.

"What is your fucking problem? This school prides itself on being nothing like Neptune High, you even call it the Un-Neptune, and here you are trying to act like a damn 09er? What the hell gives you the right to judge him or anyone? There could be an 09er in this room right now and you wouldn't know it by looking at him," Cassidy replies.

Jack looks him up and down and sneers as he stands to his full height, towering half a foot above Cassidy. "Yeah, where?"

"My mom is Kendall Casablancas, that makes me one of them by association," Cassidy replies.

"You an 09er? It doesn't look like you shop at the Gap and American Eagle, but the SUV kinda has me wondering. So what are you doing here if you live in the prestigious 09er kingdom with all the other richies? Slumming it up, get kicked out of Neptune when you and your last boyfriend got caught?"

Cassidy wants to punch him, but a familiar voice cuts through the crowd growing around them, and he sees her shoving her way through the students and she has two plastic take out bags of Italian restaurant origin. He looks from Jack the jockstrap to Mac and smiles as he turns from the jackass and then wraps his arms around the girl, surprising her and most of the onlookers as he kisses her.

When he draws back she looks dazed and he's asking, "Cindy, what are you doing here?"

She shrugs. "I remembered how you were complaining about the food here yesterday so I thought I'd surprise you. Don't you have like twenty minutes left of lunch, and what's with the crowd? Did I miss something? And tell me quick, because I'm starving, and I left Dick home alone."

"You're worried about Dick?" Cassidy asks, forgetting about the people around him.

She rolls her eyes. "The phone rang and I thought he was going to throw it across the room when he got killed. You know how he gets when he's playing video games."

"Right," he replies and the crowd is mostly gone though there are still eyes on them as he and Mac take a seat at his table, and she looks up and meets the curious gaze of the blonde guy with green highlights sitting across from her.

"So this would be Cindy?" the guy asks.

She blushes as Cassidy nods and takes out the food. He goes through the bag and finds a plate of chicken Alfredo, and then he looks at the bag that she's going through, and notices two full plates in it. "Yes, this is Cindy, and God, did you order the entire vegetarian menu?"

"You're starting to sound like Dick," she says cooly and then she looks over at Will. "And you can call me Mac. Cass is the only one that calls me Cindy. And if you're hungry you can have some of mine if you don't mind a veggie diet. I ordered plenty to go around."

"And you missed me," Cassidy replies.

"Fine, you got me. I missed you, now what was that with the crowd and the jock?"

"It was kind of my fault," Will replies. "Hi, I'm Will Harpner, and I'm the token high school gay guy. I doubt Cass knew what he was getting into when he started talking to me. They labeled him as the second queer boy, but after that show you just put on, I doubt he'll keep the label for long, and congrats."

"Congrats?"

"On the baby," Will volunteers.

Cindy turns to Cassidy and says, "So you really do talk about me. Wow."

"I'm proud of having a family, and I love you, so what's not to talk about?"

"As long as you don't refer to it as a bun in the oven I could care less. You do realize that I'm going to kill Dick at some point, right? Oh and he drank my milk from the carton and then spit it out all over the fridge and the floor, and he left it for me to clean up!" Her nostrils flare at the memory.

"This fits in with my first impression of anyone being called Dick," Will offers up, and Cassidy shifts his gaze to the boy and says, "You're my friend, aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"I've heard things about pregnant girls and violence and hormone driven rage. I choose the side that causes me the least bodily harm. You're on your own."

"I like him already," Mac replies with a grin as she begins to scarf down her eggplant lasagna.

* * *

Dick sighs as he dies once again. He turns off the X-box and flips through the channels on the television until he comes across cartoons. He shrugs, heads into the kitchen for some snackage, grabs a diet soda from the fridge and he's relieved to see that Cassidy remembered the Bar-B-Q potato chips. He really does not want to touch Mac's pretzels, because she's vicious when her food turns up missing.

He flops back onto the couch, sets his soda down on the coaster on the table next to the couch. Man, between Cassidy and I-tunes, as he's now calling Mac, his usual carefree ways are being called into check and God forbid he leave a cup ring on the table for fear of the world ending.

He opens the bag of chips and pops one in his mouth as something with the Grim Reaper, a bitchy girl, and a dumb boy comes on. He has to admit at least the Billy kid is carefree, and hassling the Reaper is kind of funny. Soon he's laughing, while he scarfs down the chips and swigs on the soda.

He looks up as the door opens and Mac walks in with Cassidy and some blonde kid with green highlights in his hair. They seem all happy go lucky, as they walk in and the blonde kid sort of stops short as he looks at Dick, and Dick is wondering who the hell the kid is.

"Hey, Dick, this is Will Harpner," Cassidy says by way of introduction. Dick gets up from his seat on the couch and looks the kid up and down as Mac goes by him and into kitchen to get drinks, and probably to eat her weight in pickles.

"You're bringing home Pan High jock itches, Dude, talk about slumming," Dick says.

Cassidy glares at him, and Will looks like he wants to make his way quickly to the nearest exit. "Dick, you could be nicer to my only friend at school. It's not like I would have had any friends at Neptune, all things considered."

"Wait, you chose Pan High?" Will asks and looks at Cassidy in surprise.

"Neptune was not an option. My mom would have killed me for considering it after all the trouble she's gone through for me lately, and believe me, she never lets me forget it."

"Kendall's still on your case?" Dick asks curiously.

"Isn't she always?" Cassidy replies, and then Mac steps out of the kitchen munching on a pickle, and Cassidy looks at Dick and asks, "Do you think you could do me a favor and go with Mac to pick up the rest of her stuff?"

"You mean I-tunes is moving in officially, and why can't you go? Seriously, do I look like the moving man to you?" Dick asks, and at Cassidy's pointed glare, he gets it. "Right, like they'll welcome me any more than they would you."

A few minutes later Dick and Mac are in Cassidy's SUV, headed toward the Mackenzie household. Awkward silence fills the car and finally Dick fumbles with the radio and something overtly peppy fills the car and Mac wonders when the torture will end, and with a groan she realizes that it is only beginning as they pull into her parent's driveway.

Mac wonders again why she agreed to Dick helping her get her things so that she could move in with Cassidy, and how exactly she's going to explain this to her parents. She's hardly been home for longer than an hour or two at a time since she's found herself staying with Cassidy, and now this makes it official that she's moving out and leaving the nest. Should she break it to her parents that she's pregnant? How would that news hit them, because they would know right away who the father is, and that would open up a can of worms that she really isn't ready to face with them at the moment. She's still working on facing them with him.

She opens the front door of the house, and her mother pops up out of the kitchen, a huge smile on her face, as she looks from Mac to the tall, blonde boy standing nervously behind her daughter.

"Cindy, it's nice of you to finally come home. How are things with that friend you're staying with? Veronica right?" she asks, her voice a little too peppy as she narrows her eyes on Dick.

"You told her you were staying with Ronnie?" Dick asks, and Mac shoves her elbow in his stomach.

Dick lets out an oof and her mother grows suspicious. "And who is your friend?"

"Mom, this is Dick Casablancas," Mac replies, and then she continues, "And we're here to get my things. It's about time I leave the nest. I mean I've been a depressed mess for the last few months and a fresh start and getting out of the house would be good for me."

"Honey, where will you stay? You've signed up to take your classes electronically so you won't be allowed to stay in student housing at Hearst, and did you say Casablancas?" her mother asks, and things are starting to click, as her mom's blue eyes widen and she stares at Dick. "He's not related to that boy you dated last year, the one that…"

Mac replies when her mother can't bring herself to continue, "Yes, he's Cassidy's older brother. He's a friend, Mom, and I have somewhere to stay, okay? When we're done packing up my things I'll give you the address and the phone number."

"Please tell me you aren't moving in with him. Cindy, that's hardly decent."

"If she's talking about decent, does she know about the other thing?" Dick asks.

"What other thing?" Mrs. Mackenzie says and narrows her eyes on her daughter.

"Nothing," Mac says and then she's saved as her little brother comes barreling down the stairs and is causing enough havoc to safely distract her mother for the time being.

Mac grabs Dick's hand and drags him upstairs and into her room. He looks around the room, somewhat surprised and impressed. "Wow, this looks kind of like Cass' room. So where do we start?"

"I really just need all of my clothes, and if you even think you're going to help me pack up my underwear you have another thing coming, mainly me hurting you. I also want to take a few books that I have that Cass doesn't, and then I have to pack up my computer stuff, and you will be very careful handling the boxes with my computer stuff, or I will destroy your X-box, got it?"

"Do not threaten the X-box," Dick says in a warning tone.

"Do not mishandle my computer and all of its various parts," Mac says with equal menace.

"How about you load up the boxes and I just carry them to the car?" Dick replies and falls back onto her bed, where he clasps his hands behind his head and watches as she shakes her head, rolls her eyes, and grumbles about his apparent uselessness and begins to pack up the various boxes around her room with her clothes and the things that she plans on taking with her.

It takes nearly two hours to get everything that she wants and she can't help rolling her eyes every five seconds as Dick has to make a comment almost as often. She is surprised when from out of nowhere Dick says, "You know, he's scared."

"What?"

"Cassidy, he's scared about you and the baby and what it all means. He's worried he won't measure up. I told him you must think so, since you know, you're with him again. I guess I'm just trying to say, don't hurt him. He's had it bad for a really long time, and you make him happy, and he hasn't been happy for as long as I can remember. Man, I'm not good at this kind of thing. I just don't want you hurting my kid brother. I know he's fucked up big time, but I know he's sorry about it."

"Dick, I get it, and I don't want to hurt him. Right after graduation and everything that happened that night, yes, I wanted to hurt him, really badly, because he hurt me and all of those things he did, but you're right, he's very sorry for what he did, and you don't have to worry. I love him, and I'm not saying it's always going to be easy, especially not now with a baby and how young we are, but I want to try. I want a family, and I want it to be with him, because I know he's that boy that I fell in love with," she says, and then she smiles as she asks, "And where is all this concern coming from anyway?"

"I've watched a lot of Oprah the past few months, and I'm his big brother. I should have been there for him, like when he was being… I just should have been more protective, I mean he's the only family I've got and I'm all he had until you, and I wasn't there for him. It's not like I didn't want to be, but he's my kid brother, and I had friends and a girlfriend, and it all seemed so much more important than looking after the quiet little dorky brother," he replies, and Mac notices how vulnerable he looks. She sits down next to him on her bed as he sits up, and she puts her arms across his shoulders and gives him a hug.

"You didn't know, Dick. No one knew, because he didn't want anyone to know. You have to let that go. He's forgiven you, and you're friends now, and you care about him, and he still loves you. You're his big brother," she says softly. "Think about it. He could have left Neptune and us behind, but he chose to stay, and he became your friend, and he's back in my life. He couldn't leave us behind. That counts for something."

"How come chicks have all the answers, I-tunes?"

Mac mentally groans at the new nickname. "I have the answers because I'm just smarter than you. Now, I'm packed up. We'll start with the computer stuff and load it first, and remember, BE CAREFUL."

"Right," he replies and her bedroom door opens as Dick pulls back from her slight embrace, and her mother gasps in the doorway.

Dick actually blushes when he gets to his feet, and Mrs. Mackenzie looks at Mac and asks her to step out in the hall for a moment. Mac joins her mother in the hall and her mother looks at her sharply, takes in a deep breath and says, "What are you doing, baby? I know it's been hard for you since graduation night when Cassidy died, but getting tied up with that boy. I've heard things in town, he drinks non-stop, sleeps around, and what if he turns out to be like Cassidy? Honey, do you have any idea what you are getting into?"

"Mom, I'm not seeing Dick. He's not replacing Cassidy. No one can. Look, it's time for me to leave home, and get out on my own. I'm ready for it, and it feels right. Just let it go and be happy for me," she says softly, a note of pleading in her voice.

"This would be different if you were moving in at the college dorms, or getting an apartment with Veronica. You only have that job you won't tell us anything about, and where are you moving, and who will be living with you? Where have you been staying for the last two weeks? Are you going to live alone?" Her mother's tone is demanding.

Mac sighs. "I need time to think before I give you all the details, okay?"

"What is there to think about Cindy?! Why can't you just tell me now? It shouldn't be complicated unless you don't want me to know. Are you moving in with Dick Casablancas? Just tell me now! And when did you even start seeing him?"

"MOM! For God sakes I'm not in a relationship with Dick! He's just been a friend to me lately, and he's been a really good friend. I'll be fine, just let me go. I'm leaving whether you want me to or not, and you aren't talking me out of this. It's for the best, I swear. I'll tell you once I get settled, can't that be enough for now?"

"After everything that happened that night when that boy jumped off the Neptuns Grand, no. It's not enough," her mother replies and then covers her mouth in an effort to hold back the tears.

"And this is why I have to leave," Mac states firmly, and then she's breaking down. She isn't even sure why she's crying. Is it because her mother reminds her of all the things she's learned about Cassidy, or reminds her of the time she's lost, or reminds her of how close she came to losing him?

The tears come hard and soon Mac is bent double, sobs tearing from her throat and almost choking her. Her mother moves forward and tries to put her arms around her daughter, but Mac shrinks away and then Dick steps out into the hallway, and Mac latches onto him like he's the last person in the world capable of keeping her anchored to the ground.

Dick is unsure of what to do, but he goes with instinct and wraps his arms around the trembling girl and holds her against him as she cries against his shirt. He turns his angry gaze to Mac's mom and says, "Look, she's happy with where she's going. Don't mess it up for her. She's been through a lot, and I-tunes…Mac is still going."

"You mean don't mess it up for you," Mrs. Mackenzie grinds out.

"This isn't about me, and so help me, if you bring up my brother, I don't care what Mac has to say, you won't get the address or the telephone number. She's my friend, if things don't work out, then yeah, she can crash at my house, it's way too big for just me anyway," Dick says, and then he looks down at Mac and continues softly, "Say the word and I'll carry you down to the car, load your shit up, and we'll go, and don't worry about the damn computer stuff, I'll be careful with it. Ready to go?"

Mac nods, and her mother realizes that there is no convincing her daughter otherwise. Mac is leaving, and she's leaving with Dick Casablancas. What's more surprising is that Dick actually seems to care about her.

Mrs. Mackenzie watches as Dick scoops up her daughter into his arms and then carries her out to the SUV in the driveway. He gets her settled in the passenger's seat, and a moment later he's taking the boxes of Mac's things out to the SUV. It takes him all of ten minutes to get the SUV loaded with Mac's things.

Once he puts the last box into the back of the Kia Sportage, he talks with Mac for a few moments, and then he returns to the house. He stops at the door and Mrs. Mackenzie goes to meet him. He doesn't say anything to her as he holds out a slip of paper to her. Mrs. Mackenzie looks down and sees the address for an apartment and a phone number. Dick turns around, and soon the SUV is growing smaller in the distance.

She looks down at the number in her hand, and decides to call it, just to see who picks it up on the other end.

* * *

Cassidy is busy copying Will's history notes while Will works on his calculus when the phone rings. He sighs and reaches for the phone. He hits the talk button, and says, "Hello."

"Who are you and why is my daughter moving in with you, or is she moving in with Dick Casablancas and you're just the cover?" comes the concerned voice of Mac's mother.

"Mrs. Mackenzie? Where are Dick and Mac right now?" he asks.

"I don't know! After he carried her to the car he loaded up her things, gave me this number and an address and then they left!" she shrieks into the phone.

"He had to carry her?" Cassidy asks weakly. "Was she all right, did she have a fainting spell?"

"Fainting spell? What are you talking about? She was upset and crying and he just picked her up and carried her. You know what, I'm going to the address she gave me and I'll let you explain exactly what's going on. My daughter has gone through enough with one Casablancas without getting her heart broken by another one. You better have some answers for me when I get there, and what is your name?" she snaps.

"Cassidy," he says, and winces as the woman's breath hitches on the other end. "Cassidy Banks."

"Well, Cassidy Banks, expect me soon, and I mean it when I say I want answers." She hangs up, and Cassidy groans as presses the end button on the phone and lets his hand drop to his side.

"Shit."

Will looks up. "Cass, is something wrong? What happened with Mac? Is she okay? Who was that?"

"It was Mac's mom. Something happened and Mac got upset while she was loading her stuff up. Dick had to carry her to the car, and her mom was less than thrilled to see Dick, because of graduation last year, and now her mom is coming here and Mac and I are probably well and truly fucked. Damn it, I never thought about what this would mean with her parents."

"So I take it they don't know?" Will asks the obvious.

Cassidy's sour expression is answer enough.

* * *

Please review!


	7. SEVEN

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Seven:

Cassidy is sitting on the couch, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. Will is gone; he left five minutes ago. He hears a key in the door, and looks up. He's off of the couch in a second as Mac steps into the apartment. Dick is right behind her, with a large box in his straining arms.

Cassidy gathers Mac in his arms and holds her close, kissing her temple, and asking if she's all right. She gives him a strange look and shrugs, not really too keen on rehashing the little chat with her mom. He reluctantly lets her go when she begins to pull back from his embrace.

"I'm fine, Cass," she replies.

"I know Dick had to carry you to the car Cindy. So just tell me what happened, please?"

"Her mom went ape shit when she realized who I was and thought Mac was moving in with me, I-tunes got upset and so I carried her to the car, because seriously, the stressing couldn't have been good for the bun."

"Will you quit calling the baby a damn bun already?!" Mac snaps impatiently and then she looks at Cassidy and asks, "And how do you know that?"

He winces. "Because your mom called, and I think she's on her way. She's pissed, and she probably wants to hammer my ass to the wall. She thinks I'm your cover so you can move in with Dick. Man, just wait until she finds out about the baby."

"Dude, you're really going to tell her about the baby? I mean, that's kind of asking for trouble, bro," Dick says.

Mac rolls her eyes. "We'll have to tell her eventually. She's my mom, and it's not like I could keep this a secret once I really start to show."

"See, this is why I'm a firm supporter of the condom industry," Dick says as he sets the box down on the floor and he snorts when he's on the receiving end of two death glares.

"Condoms were kind of involved Dick," Cassidy bites out and then he's massaging his temple and trying to think as he looks at Mac. "So what's the game plan when your mom gets here? Do you want to tell her about the baby? How do you explain me? I mean, do we set her up with the truth, or am I your new boyfriend who can deal with raising some crazy dead guy's baby?"

He is stunned when Mac's hand comes flying out of nowhere and lands smartly across his cheek. Even Dick winces, because it's a pretty hard lick, and he feels for his little brother. Mac's nostrils are flaring, and her eyes are narrowed as she hisses, "Don't you EVER refer to our baby like that again, or yourself for that matter Cassidy. You are more than that! Do you understand me, and you will not be having any fucking pity parties or woe is me bullshit, especially not when the baby comes, are we clear on that?"

"Crystal," he replies, rubbing his stinging cheek, and he finds it ironic that he got the crap smacked out of him while she was defending him.

"I'm never pissing you off," Dick replies and rubs his own cheek in sympathy.

Mac rolls her eyes. "As far as my mom goes. We can tell her about the baby, but the less people that know who you really are Cass, the better. I don't want to lose you after everything, especially not with the baby."

He nods solemnly, and then Mac presses a light kiss across the cheek that she slapped moments before and says, "Right, now how about helping Dick bring my stuff in so I can get everything set up?"

It doesn't take long to unload the KIA. Soon Mac has her desktop computer set up in Cassidy's bedroom, on the desk where his laptop once resided, and his desk is also covered with various computer bits and pieces, and Mac's notebook computer is lying next to his on the bed. The box containing a sizable portion of her book collection is set down next to the desk where she will go through it and add it to Cassidy's bookshelves later on.

Dick and Cassidy are sitting down on the couch, sharing a couple of sodas when there is a sharp knock on the door and Mac is walking down the hall toward the door; Cassidy finds himself by her side as she pulls open the door and faces her somewhat angry mother.

"Hi, mom," Mac says, but her mother's mouth falls open as she lays eyes on the boy standing next to her daughter.

"You… She went to your funeral. You're supposed to be dead. Why can't you just leave my baby alone?" she says in disbelief and then turns to look at her daughter, her expression begging for some kind of explanation as she steps into the apartment and the door is closed behind her.

"Mom, this is Cass Banks. He's not who you think he is, okay. He's the guy responsible for me having a high paying job, and I'm kind of dating him," Mac replies.

Her mother takes in a slow, deep breath as she narrows her eyes suspiciously on the boy. "Okay, how is he responsible for your job, how old is he, and why haven't I heard of him up until now, and have you been staying here the whole last two weeks? What happened to staying with Veronica? And why would he be concerned about fainting spells?"

Before Mac can respond Cassidy jumps in. "I'm going to be eighteen next year, and I own the majority stock in the company that Mac is working for, the Phoenix Land Trust. My mom signed them over to me when she brought me to Neptune. Appeasing a guilty conscience or something like that. Look, Mrs. Mackenzie, I really care about your daughter."

"That's not what I was asking," her mother snaps.

"Mom, I was staying here the whole time. I kind of fainted on Cass the day we met and I ended up staying the night…" Mac pauses when she realizes how that sounds.

"I slept on the couch," Cassidy adds quickly.

"Get to the part about why you're fainting."

"Dude, just tell her about the bun already!" Dick calls from the couch, and Mac and Cassidy fix him with a glare before Mac faces her mother with a guilty expression and Cassidy is a fierce shade of red.

"Bun?" Mrs. Mackenzie asks and looks in confusion at her daughter, before realization slowly dawns. "No, Cindy. Please don't tell me."

"Mom, I'm sorry."

"How long?" her mother asks.

"Three months. It was graduation night."

"Do I even need to ask who the father is?" her mother asks.

Cassidy puts his arm around Mac's shoulder and looks her mother in the eye as he says, "I am. I want to be there for Cindy and the baby, and it's not like we'll have to worry about money."

"You're still in high school and I'm not buying for a second that you are who you say you are. I might be blonde but I wasn't born yesterday. Either you're lying about being the baby's father or you're Cassidy Casablancas, and my money is on you being a Casablancas."

"Mom," Mac says and her tone is pleading.

"No. I can't allow you to stay here with him, especially not with a baby! You do remember what happened? He left you in a room, took all of your clothes, and wait, honey did he rape you?"

Mac's mouth falls open and Cassidy's fists clench at his sides.

"I took her clothes to keep her from coming after me because I knew it was going to get bad up on the roof, okay? As for ra… I wouldn't do that to Cindy," he says, and there are tears in his eyes as he remembers that night with Veronica at Shelley Pomroy's party and guilt weighs into him.

"How can you justify humiliating my daughter, blowing up a bus full of kids and a plane? How can you convince me that you deserve the opportunity to mess up my daughter's life anymore than you already have, not to mention what damage you could do to my future grandchild?"

He swallows thickly. "The bus was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, but I wouldn't take back Woody Goodman dying in that plane. I feel bad about the other people on that plane, but he had it coming. You don't know how bad he deserved it. I'm not justifying any of it. I know what I've done, and I live with it everyday. I love your daughter, and I love that piece of me and her growing inside of her. I can provide for them, and I swear to you, that what happened to me will never happen to my child. Count on that. There won't be someone like Woody Goodman touching my kid. I'll kill the son of a bitch first."

Hearing the conviction in the boy's voice, Natalie Mackenzie knows that he means business and she watches as the boy's arms wrap around her daughter, and his large hands cover her stomach protectively. He leans in and presses a kiss to her daughter's cheek and she watches as Mac relaxes in his arms, and it kills her that her daughter would choose this, but the boy does care, and she can't deny it.

"Fine, but if you ever hurt my daughter I won't stop until you get what you deserve. You better see that she and the baby are taken care of. I will be checking in Cassidy. You say you wouldn't let anyone hurt your child, I'm banking on that, and you keep this is mind, I won't let anyone hurt mine either," she replies, and then she turns back to the door, tears brimming in her eyes as she opens it, because she realizes that she's just let go of her baby girl, and it hurts because she knows this is probably the only dumb thing her genius daughter has ever done, and it kills her to think that it might be the one thing that destroys her daughter, and she's helpless to really stop it.

She closes the door behind her and she's in a daze when she finds herself sitting in her car in the parking garage of the apartment building. She grips the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white from the force of her grip as the tears slip down her face, and then she gives into the sobs that come tearing out of her throat. She knew letting go wouldn't be easy, but this is destroying her.

Her precious baby has grown up, and is about to have a baby with a rich boy still in high school who has gotten away with murder literally, and she can't help wondering if this is right. Her mind races back in time to over fourteen years earlier when she was informed that Cindy wasn't really her daughter, but the daughter of the Sinclairs. She'd fought for her daughter then, but how can she fight now if this is what her daughter wants?

She is slowly gaining control over her emotions as she comes to the conclusion that she will just have to trust in Cindy's judgment, because Cindy has never trusted lightly, and should things not work out she will be there for her daughter and the baby. She really hopes things work out for once though, because with the way her daughter responds to Cassidy Casablancas, and with the way the boy looks at Cindy, her daughter's happiness almost seems to depend on things working out.

* * *

"So are we ordering out for pizza?" Dick asks once Mac's mom leaves.

"You would think of food at a time like this! Dick! This is serious! Take your head out of your ass for once!" Cassidy snaps in impatience as he begins to pace, his tongue frantically working across his lips for a moment.

"He has a point. Food would be nice about now," Mac pipes up and Cassidy looks at her with a dazed expression on his face.

"Did you just take up for Dick?"

Dick is grinning. "Dude, your girlfriend totally took up for me! That's like cool as shit man!"

"No, but I am pregnant and I am hungry," Mac replies, and Dick gives her a playful hurt expression that makes her smile, and then he smirks and gives her a thumbs up before he reaches for the phone and dials the number of the pizza place.

* * *

Mac sighs as she settles down in the bed and Cassidy's arms drift around her and she shifts so that they are closer and her hand is on his bare chest, her head resting against his shoulder, and his hand is playing with a strand of her dark hair.

He breaks the silence. "You know it's really cool that your mom cares so much about you. Hell my parents hardly knew I existed back when I was supposed to be alive. It probably came as a real shock to my mom when I made the evening news as a suicidal mass murderer."

"Stop it," she says softly, as she looks up at him, her blue eyes meeting his steady brown gaze.

"I'm just saying you have really great parents. They actually care about you, and know you exist. That's more than I've ever had. My only real family before I had you was Dick. Now that's saying something, especially since I act more like an adult than he does."

"A two year old acts more like an adult than Dick does," Mac replies. "And she's always been there for me, even though she doesn't get me at all. I mean I've never really fit in with my family, but that doesn't keep them from caring for me, and that's what counts I guess, that they care no matter what, especially since I'm not really their daughter."

He shifts with Mac and moves against the headboard of the bed so that they're sitting up. "What? Cindy, what are you talking about? Of course you're their daughter. Why wouldn't you be?"

"It's nothing, just… I'm not really a Mackenzie. I always suspected that I was adopted so I had Veronica do some digging, and she found out some things. I could have been an 09er, Cassidy. I could have taken trips to France, Italy, seen the Eiffel Tower or the Sistine Chapel…"

"You're joking right?" he asks, a chuckle edging his voice until he realizes that she is being absolutely serious. "Okay, so what exactly did Veronica find out? You weren't supposed to be like Madison Sinclair or Shelley Pomroy, right?"

At her expression his eyes widen and he lets out a small breath. "Shit."

"I was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair. I was supposed to be Madison Sinclair and she was supposed to be Cindy Mackenzie. I kind of like how my life turned out though. I mean I've met my real mom and I have this really sweet little sister, but I'd still choose my parents. They cared enough to keep me even though they don't get me, and they still love me."

"Wow," Cassidy replies. "I'm kind of glad you're Cindy Mackenzie. I love you just the way you are. Shit, Dick dated Madison, and… Well, Dick dated Madison. That's just… I mean that could have been you. Oh God, I'm stopping right there."

"See, it's better this way, because I'm right here where I need to be, with you," she whispers and leans up until her mouth is pressed against his.

It doesn't take long for the kiss to move onto something more. She trails kisses down his throat, nibbles on his nipples, and then licks her way down his torso until she is pulling his boxers down, and their gazes lock. His tongue sweeps across his lips as he watches her.

He's hard and he shivers as she takes him in her hand, and she flickers her tongue across the tip of him in curiosity, and his dark eyes flutter shut as his head falls back and a moan escapes his throat. His eyes fly open in surprise and he's looking down at her in shock as her mouth covers him, and she shifts down. He winces at the feel of her teeth on his tender flesh.

"Teeth, watch the teeth," he hisses, and soon she has the hang of it.

He can feel the pressure building, and suddenly his fingers are threading into her hair and he's pulling her back and she looks up at him in surprise, and he notices the hurt in her eyes as she says, "Am I doing it wrong?"

He shakes his head and smiles down at her. "No, you're perfect. I just want to be inside of you when I come."

He sits up, reaches for the bottom of her gray tank top, pulls it over her head, and his lips meet hers briefly before he kisses a warm trail down her throat, sucking gently at the sensitive flesh over the hollow of her throat. He smiles against her skin as she gasps, and his hands are on her breasts, kneading and massaging them until he takes first one and then the other in his mouth, lavishing them with equal attention, and he moves further down, his tongue dipping within her naval, and he grins as she squirms.

She lies back on the bed as he pulls her pajama bottoms and panties down her legs, and then he slowly makes his way back up to her. He pauses when he reaches the juncture between her legs, and dips his head down for a taste. She moans and writhes beneath him, and the sounds escaping her throat sends a spark of lightening shooting up his spine, and soon he's worked his way back up her body, and his lips crash down on hers, and he's catching her moans in his mouth as he enters her.

She arches up against his body, meeting him thrust for thrust. His hand settles between them, adding to the friction, and soon the tension building within her snaps and releases, and she's trembling beneath him, and his back arches as his body gives in, and he's filling her.

He's careful as he shifts so that he lands beside her on the bed, and then he pulls her close against him, pushing sweaty strands of her dark hair from her face, and pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose, and his hand settles on the small bump that is her growing belly. He then shifts and places a kiss on her swelling tummy and he can't resist the urge to talk to the baby growing within her.

"Hey," he whispers and his breath tickles against her sensitive skin. "You have the most incredible woman in the world for a mom. She's brilliant and sexy, and she's definitely smarter than me. I'm sure she'll tell you all about that soon. You're such a lucky kid, and when you decide to finally show up in the world, you have Mommy and Daddy's permission to kick your Uncle Dick in the shin whenever he calls you a bun."

Mac chuckles and adds, "And feel free to pee on him whenever you want."

She smiles as Cassidy presses another kiss to her tummy, and she's breathless as he looks up at her, and his dark eyes sparkle with joy, peace, life. She runs a hand through his dark hair and she notices the blue highlights, and decides that she'll put a little life back into her own hair tomorrow.

She is soon swept up into a tender kiss that tells her all she needs to know about how he feels for her.

He shifts and draws her against him, her head rests on his shoulder as he uses his free hand to pull the covers over the both of them, and soon she's dozing off in his arms. Cassidy is looking down at her when he finally begins to drift off into dreams of a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes running around in the backyard of the Casablancas mansion with Mac running after him, while he sits on a lounge chair with a little girl with light brown hair, and dark brown eyes staring back at him as Dick tries to get his attention, and a smile forms on his lips as he realizes that the life he's always wanted is within his grasp for once and it makes his heart skip a beat, because he's almost afraid to hope for it, but with Mac by his side, fears be damned, he will hope.

* * *

Please review!


	8. EIGHT

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Eight:

With a roll of her eyes she steps into the bar, a look of disgust on her face as she looks at the men crowding around the pool table over in the corner, taking bets on the next shot. She sneers as Danny Boyd gives her a wave and a nice little shout out, and once she spots Liam Fitzpatrick she makes a beeline toward him, wondering what could be so important that he would call her and demand that she show up at this dump. She shakes her head and wonders how she ends up in seedy places like this. Really with a name like River Styx you would think it would have just a little more class.

He's got a shark like grin on his face and Kendall knows something is up. He indicates an empty chair across from him and she demurely slips into the chair and raises a dark brow at him questioningly. "All right, got me down here hotshot. So what the hell is going on that is so important that I have to come all the way down here?"

"What, baby, don't like slummin' it anymore now that you live in those rich digs in the 09er kingdom. You forget where you come from, sweet heart?" he says with a sneer.

"Let's get something straight. I am better than you. I'm the one living in the house on the hills with nice, pretty shiny things, and lots of money. You are the one in this sinkhole. Do the math genius."

"Pretty sharp talk from the likes of you. Man, you just became a high priced whore with my brother in the slammer."

"I'm still rich, i.e. better than you. Now point or I leave and stop at the clinic on the way home to pick up a nice penicillin cocktail, because I'm bound to catch something hanging around here."

"Like you haven't already caught something," he says, and when she makes to stand, he finally caves and with his hand gestures for her to take her seat again. "Fine, always playing hard ass. Fuck, can't take a little street humor. So I got word from some sources in L.A. that you got a kid, a kid with a nice debt. Now up until recently that debt was written off of the books because he was dead. Now my guy says he's heard this kid of yours isn't as dead as they say and you got him holed up in some nice little apartment right here in Neptune, and he's in high school. Going for that mother of the year prize now? Cause this is deep shit, we're talking the Sharks, and they're wanting blood for what he owes them."

"The Sharks? A little West Side Story much, and what does my kid have to do with anything. How bad is the debt? I mean they can be paid off or something right?"

He whistles. "So you do have a kid, I'm guessing Cormac doesn't know."

"It's not like he's Cormac's kid anyway. Now back to the point, what does this have to do with me and what kind of debt are we talking here."

"There was something about a drug deal that went south. A narc got killed and your kid, Casey or something was involved; he brought the narc in among the Sharks. Now they thought they'd killed him. They beat him up pretty bad and threw him off a bridge in a park. Imagine their surprise when they get word from one of their hopped up cousins that there is some new kid Cassidy Banks going to Pan High. You got trouble, and this kid is the source. The Sharks won't play nice gettin' to him. They'll go for a kill, but they're sneaky. They might go for you first, and you're one of us, and we protect our own, but your kid don't count Kendall. We don't know him. We don't owe him. Got it?"

"My kid is as much a priority as me. Especially when he's the one calling the shots for our little investment, okay? How bad is it looking with these Sharks? They're in L.A., what kind of damage can they do from there?"

"They want the kid bad. They'll probably pay a little visit to Neptune at some point. Right now he's probably just being watched at school while they plan their move."

"He's not even the kid they're looking for. Cassidy has never had business in L.A.," Kendall says with a groan, wondering why once again the little shit hadn't heeded her advice and left California all together. She is so going to pay him a visit before she goes home.

"Wait the kid you're putting up as your own isn't the kid from L.A.? Well, if he's not that kid then who is he? Do you really have a kid or are you covering for someone?" Liam asks, his curiosity piqued.

"Look, it's kind of complicated and I can't break it down in terms that you can understand."

"Try me," he challenges.

"Fine, my son Casey died in L.A., like the night before the bus crash was uncovered. My stepson Cassidy was the one that took the leap off the Hotel Grand only he didn't leap. I pulled him into the suite below and tossed a body dressed up like him out of the window, and crushed a car in the process not to mention broke a nail. Cassidy took my son's identity and like a complete dumb ass decided to stay in Neptune. Hey what can I say, if he wants to be stupid it's on him. I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, because my ass is seriously on the line because of this kid with a whole bunch of conspiracy charges, okay?"

"Yeah, but what the hell would make YOU want to help some snot nosed little rich kid?"

"He made me CEO of a company worth over eight figures, call it gratitude, and hey I failed Casey, maybe I'm getting soft, and if you tell anyone you'll be singing with the tenors once I'm finished with your balls, got it?"

"Yeah, you're pretty protective of this kid. You might actually have some mothering skills in you, scary thought."

She snorts. "Yeah. Now you keep up your end. You got my back and you have the kid's back. Think of it as looking after a good investment, because the kid is gold when it comes to business, he knows his stuff. Do what you have to as far as the Sharks, and I don't care how you take care of it, but just do it."

"Fine, but you should at least give the kid a little heads up. We'll work on our end, but if there's a war between us and the Sharks over this, you're explaining that to Cormac next time you visit him in the pen, sweet heart, because this is all you now."

"Fine," she replies sharply, gets to her feet in one liquid smooth movement, and then her hips are swaying as she leaves the seedy bar. She slips into her silver BMW convertible, turns the key in the ignition and there is only one destination on her mind.

* * *

The controller slips from his limp hand, and the sound of the front door creaking open actually manages to wake him. He sucks in a huge breath of air and snatches up the controller, ready to heave it at the intruder when the light is suddenly flipped on and he is left blinking at his stepmother in surprise.

"Kendall? What the hell?"

"Dick, I could ask the same thing. So where is Cassidy? I mean I'm paying the rent for this place for him, not you. He's got a lot of explaining to do, like right the hell now!"

"Just chill, like man, who lit the fuse on your tampon already, Cass is sleeping and you're totally going to wake him up and…"

"I want to wake him the hell up because he's in some pretty deep shit and he's dragging me into it right along with him!" she snaps.

"So this is about the bun? You know? Cause I mean I think its kinda cool," Dick says and scratches his head as he looks at Kendall and she's staring at him like he's grown a second head.

"Bun? What bun? Do you ever make any sense? Look I'm done talking to you, go get my kid so I can totally bitch him out for royally fucking me over!"

A moment later the bedroom door down the hall is thrown open and Cassidy dressed in his boxers and a t-shirt, is rushing down the hallway to see what in the hell is going on. He stops, frozen in place as he stares at Kendall standing in his living room, and she looks pissed with her dark eyes burning and her nostrils flared.

"What the hell is going on, and could you please keep it down?" he snaps in a hushing tone.

"Don't you tell me to keep it down, Mr. Wouldn't Know Inconspicuous If It Bit Him on the ASS! What in the hell have you been doing at school to get noticed by a gang in L.A.?! Liam is practically pitching a fit over this, and he never gets like this, usually he just does what he has to and it gets done! He actually called me down to the River Styx, do you have any idea how degrading it was to go down there? I'll need a full week's worth of spa treatments to get over the exposure and I'm sending you the bill!"

"Will you please keep it down before…?" Cassidy isn't able to finish as a soft feminine voice calls out, "Cass? Hey, where are you?"

"Thanks, mom, you've gone and woken up the whole household, and she's been restless all freaking night. I swear no more Chinese food for her," he says and glares at Kendall.

"Wait just a minute Junior, not that I want to know about your little sex life or whatever, but who the hell is that? It's not that little computer geek is it? Who the hell else have you told? Does Ace the dumb boy wonder over there know too?" Kendall asks and gestures toward Dick who looks slightly offended.

"Her name is Cindy, and yes, she knows, and Dick knows too, so you can drop the semi-caring mom looking after her kid deal. I'm just an investment to you, like my dad was, but I have more control over you than he ever did, and keep it down. I'll take care of Cindy and then we'll talk if you can possibly manage bitching me out at a normal decibel level."

"Hold it, what's with all the concern for your little girlfriend?" Kendall asks.

Dick rolls his eyes. "Hello, it's totally for the bun."

"Bun?" Kendall asks and then it dawns on her and she turns to Cassidy in surprise. "And when exactly did THAT happen?"

"Graduation night, he popped Ghost World's cherry and landed a kid in one stroke. Didn't know my little bro had it in him, but he's got the Casablancas mackin' skills. Still should have recommended the Lifestyle condoms, they have a better rating than the Trojans."

Cassidy is beet red as he reaches out and smacks Dick on the back of the head. Dick rubs his head and looks at Cassidy with a hurt expression on his face. "Dude, what was that for? I just call em like I see em, and I never did give you the full 101 on the birds and the bees."

"Sex ed from total novices, I shudder to think of this girl's first time," Kendall replies dryly.

"It's improved since then," Cindy replies, and they turn to look and she's leaning against the wall between the hall and the doorway to the kitchen. "So what's going on, and why is she here exactly?"

"I come bringing good cheer, and don't think this kid is calling ME grandma. I'm too young and perky for that," Kendall replies with a withering look in Mac's general direction before she turns a death glare on Cassidy.

"And way too hot," Dick chimes in.

Kendall actually smiles at him as she says, "Wow that is the first intelligent thing I've heard out of your mouth, yet. Give the boy a cookie."

"Okay, so does this visit have a point?" Mac asks.

"Yeah, actually, how about we all take a seat and I tell you what I just heard through the lovely back streets grapevine," Kendall says and takes a seat in the chair that is next to the couch.

Dick flops back on the couch and then Cassidy sits next to his brother and Mac sits down next to him and when his arm wraps around her shoulder she leans into his warm embrace, and smiles absently when his free hand plays with her hair, and his other hand takes hers, and gives it a reassuring squeeze, because he knows that Kendall isn't exactly Mac's favorite person. Actually he isn't really sure that Kendall is anyone's favorite person unless you count Hugh Heffner.

Once she's sure she has her audience's attention, she leans back in the chair, crosses her legs and clasps her hands over her knee, and she tosses her hair back as she notices Dick admiring her from the corner of her eye. Damn, she can still work it, grandma her ass!

"So I get this call from an acquaintance of mine, Liam Fitzpatrick. Let's just say that all of the Fitzpatricks owe me huge for this little favor I did for them a while back, all I can say is that I so didn't have my head on straight, and no man will ever have that kind of power over me again. When it comes down to it, a man or freedom, freedom will win out. Yeah, anyway, ol Liam tells me that my son had some big time problems in L.A. Seems he got in with the wrong guys and then introduced them to a narc buddy of his, and yeah, they want blood. They thought they had blood a few months ago, but low and behold, resurrection boy you've done it again. How does it feel to land waist deep in shit? Seriously, inquiring minds want to know."

"How was I supposed to know your son was some delinquent whose past would follow him? So what exactly does this mean?" Cassidy asks as he leans forward and then he pulls Mac closer against him as he feels her stiffen beside him, her worry evident.

"This means Junior, that we have problems. They thought they killed my son the night before graduation. Funny little story, they did, but his body went missing at the morgue, got that little tidbit from Keith Mars after I showed him Casey's death certificate. I think I fed him a story along the lines of my kid being in the witness protection program, that's how I rehearsed it with Clarence Wiedman. See, if you'd just left like I told you from the beginning, but oh no, you actually stick around for your knocked up girlfriend and here we are," Kendall replies bitterly.

"And what do you have against him staying?" Mac bites out.

"Oh please, like hormone driven bitchiness can rival me. Get real Miss Computer Savvy, I was born a queen bitch, you've been hormonal, what a few months? You aren't even a tick on an elephant's ass girly," Kendall replies as she narrows her eyes on the girl. "And think about it, would we be here now if he were oh say across the country? I don't think so!"

"Cat fight," Dick says with a wiggle of his eyebrows in a stage whisper to his brother, and Cassidy's arm tightens around Mac.

"Enough already," Cassidy snaps, having enough of the tension that is filling the room, and worried over stressing Mac out. "I stayed, so can we deal with the consequences rather than dredge up old arguments. What the fuck are our options?"

"Liam says he'll look into things. You are a good investment after all, but with the way he's acting this might be a little out of his league, so you got any friends that might be able to help? I'd suggest Wiedman, but all out of favors there and he's still on the Kane payroll. I'm thinking Mars maybe, but if he blows the lid on who you really are I'm just as much in the hot seat as you are, aiding and abetting and all."

"The only thug we know would be Weevil, and dude he's like in the slammer, you know working on the live set of Oz, but like maybe when he's out you could pull a favor. He's in tight with Ronnie, but he can probably keep his mouth shut," Dick says with a shrug, and he says, "What?" as three sets of eyes stare at him in amazement.

"And that is the second intelligent thing I've heard out of your mouth. Careful two in one night, don't strain yourself," Kendall replies with a smirk, and then the wheels in her head start turning, because Weevil will be out in a week, the evidence she handed over to Keith Mars a few months back having finally reached the district attorney is seeing to that.

"That look can't mean anything good," Mac whispers next to Cassidy.

He turns to look at her, a small reassuring smile on his face. "She had that same smile on her face when she helped me plan faking my death. Don't underestimate her. She might be a bitch, a bimbo, and a gold digging, doesn't care how she gets it oportunist, but she's smart. She's got brains. I was kind of surprised myself when I found out."

"But do you really think we can trust her with this, and knowing about the baby?" she asks softly.

Cassidy sighs. "We've made it this far haven't we, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her, Cindy. I kind of owe her all of this, because she didn't have to pull me in through the window. She's done a lot for me. Sure I'm paying her, but I don't know, it just seems like there's more to her. I just hope she doesn't ask for near the favors I've asked of her."

"I don't trust her," Mac replies, and as she looks up into his dark eyes she adds, "But I trust in your judgment. So where do we go from here?"

He shrugs. "I'm not sure. We'll just have to wait and listen to what she's come up with when she's ready to share, but she's got something up her sleeve."

"And apparently up her skirt with the way Dick's eyeballing her," Mac adds with a smirk.

Cassidy glances at his brother and then shakes his head as a small smile creeps across his mouth and he places a soft kiss against Mac's temple as Kendall puts her diabolical brain to work on a plan to get them out of the shit they've found themselves in.

* * *

Please review!


	9. NINE

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Nine:

Veronica Mars is sitting at her desk, sifting through the pictures she took last night for a client. She smiles as she comes across the money shots. A very demurely dressed young secretary answering the door to a very eager Edward Parnell. The next shot is the pretty redheaded secretary planting a lip locking, suffocate until I let you go kiss on the forty-something year old man who could almost pass for George Clooney's slightly less handsome twin brother. Mrs. Parnell will be very happy; the prenup will be thrown out in two seconds during the court proceedings.

She prints several of the photos, and as they come out of her printer she adds them to the Parnell file, paper clipping them neatly in with the paperwork and the bill. Mrs. Parnell is expected in an hour. She sighs as she closes the folder and looks up at the sound of a door opening. Her eyes widen and a wide grin spreads across her face as the somewhat short, shaved headed, former PCH biker gang leader steps into Mars Investigations.

He's got a flirtatious smirk on his face and his dark eyes are bright as he looks at her, and says, "So, V, who I got to thank for my freedom? Damn girl, you work fast. I was expecting it to be like six months before I got an appeal, and here you go and get me off the hook before the court appointed charity lawyer even begins filing the papers. What's your secret? Still hot for me, cause you know, if you're up for a little something, Weevil love you long time."

She shakes her head and a small laugh escapes. "I remember, but I'm kind of taken. I'll let you know if I'm ever available again, but he's kind of possessive."

"Ah," Weevil replies, "So still with Echolls. I'd heard you hooked back up with him from Lamb of all people. Guess I'm not the only one crushin' on you Blondie, he seemed a little crestfallen too. I don't know what hurt him more, talking about you or takin' the handcuffs off me. Man's got some serious kink issues."

"Maybe I'll have to pay the wizard a visit, then," Veronica replies, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

Weevil shrugs. "Hey, I only call em like I see em, and since I'm down here I'll give you a little heads up. I've been hearing some things that kinda got me worried. I'm not warning the boys, cause hell, I ain't one of them anymore, but you. You always had my back."

"Okay, so what's up?"

"While I was in the pen I heard some things about the Sharks, not the baseball team, but this hard ass gang in L.A., there into shit like the Fitzpatricks, drugs, hits, weapons running. You name it they're into it. Word is there's some kid that scrapped out after he got a narc in with them. They thought they killed the kid and the narc, but the kid's body goes missing from the morgue before he's fully toe-tagged, and now they hear that he's hiding in Neptune. They got a cousin at Pan High, Epsy, and Epsy swears he's seen the guy. This will be all kinds of bad when these guys come down here lookin' for him," Weevil answers.

Veronica's eyes widen, and her breathing quickens as she remembers what she heard from her dad and then she asks, "The guy, the one that got away, was his name Casey Banks?"

He nods. "Yeah, why? You heard of him?"

"Oh, God, Mac," Veronica says.

"V, you okay, and what about Mac? Something up with my ol' buddy the genius?" he asks.

"You know Mac?"

"She taught me math when her hopped up boyfriend wasn't making any sense and pissing me off."

"That boyfriend, Cassidy Casablancas, jumped off the Neptune Grand, or so everyone thinks, and now Mac is stuck with a baby and this is going to have a huge affect on her and everything!"

"Woah, slow down, the Beav was the kid that blew up the bus and swan dived off the tallest building in Neptune?" He lets out a low whistle as Veronica nods. "Shit, rich kids got some issues. And wait, Mac's got a kid? When did this happen, and how is she connected to the Sharks?"

"She's pregnant. It happened on graduation night, before Cassidy supposedly jumped off the roof. Now I know that Casey Banks is dead, even though Kendall fed my dad that crap story about him going into witness protection, and I know because Cassidy Casablancas is now Cassidy Banks and Mac is living with him and hanging out with Dick. Oh, God I knew this would blow up in my face."

"Woah, back up, I thought you said Cassidy jumped off a roof, that usually results in death."

"Somehow he managed to fake his death, I know it, and Mac knows it and I think Dick might even know it. I just can't prove it without getting the coroner to reexamine the body in Cassidy's grave. If that happens though, Mac is going to be destroyed, and I've seen Cassidy and I have more reasons to hate him than anyone else, but I saw how he looked when he took that step off of the roof, and I've seen how he looks at Mac, and he cares for her and that baby, and he's not the same boy that blew up that bus and the plane. He's not the same boy that raped me," she says quietly.

"Come again," Weevil says. "He raped you? I'll kill the little shit and save the Sharks the trouble."

"No. He's not that boy anymore. I don't know who he is, and I can't bring myself to do that to Mac. I've just got to figure this out so that she doesn't get hurt, and I doubt he knew all this baggage would be coming with his new identity."

"V, it's true what they say. You are a fuckin' marshmallow," he says, and sits down in one of the chairs across from her desk, and then he leans forward and asks, "And really, who do I have to thank for my freedom. I kinda owe them a huge ass favor."

Veronica takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "That would be Kendall Casablancas, also known as Priscilla Banks. She was Casey's mother, and she helped mastermind Cassidy's supposed death, though I haven't figured out the how of it yet. She came forward with evidence that Thumper was at the River Styx after you left him out cold in front of the church, and I think she might have provided you with an alibi, something about sexual favors, and I don't want to know if it's true or not."

"Well if it is, I can't remember banging some rich white guy's wife, and that's usually somethin' you remember," he says with a grin, and Veronica rolls her eyes.

* * *

With a roll of her eyes she gets up from the couch and goes to answer the door, because apparently the hired help has gone deaf or something and can't hear the doorbell. Someone is so getting yelled at if she messes up the fresh polish on her toenails. She pulls open the doors and looks at the person on the other side, with a "who the hell are you and why should I care" look.

He's about her height, with a shaved head, dark eyes and quite a few visible tattoos. He's dressed in blue jeans that are ripped at the knees, a white muscle shirt and a black leather jacket. There's a muscle car in her driveway, and she's wondering who the hell he is, as he looks kind of familiar.

"The help enters the house through the back," she replies curtly.

"I'm not the hired help," he replied, his voice is husky and he's kind of sexy. "I came to thank you for coming up with the evidence that got me released, though I think I would have remembered banging you. Damn. Was it the vodka? Because I can hold my tequila."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Eli Navarro. I mostly go by Weevil, and I hear you're to thank for gettin' me back on the streets. So you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, and yeah, I'm available for sexual favors. Weevil love you long time, chica."

"So you're Weevil," she replies. "All right, come in, we've got some talking to do."

"Is that what they're callin' it in the hills these days," he replies with a smirk.

She gives him a withering glare as she closes the door behind him and leads him to her bedroom. He looks around, impressed at the lavish look of the room, and the massive bed that is a work of art, clearly not meant to be missed.

"Take a seat," she says and with a wide gesture indicates the bed.

He sits at the foot of it, and watches as she paces for a few minutes, and he knows the wheels are turning in the woman's head, and he wonders what's up. Finally she stops, tosses her hair back over her shoulder, approaches him, puts her hands on his knees and bends forward, and he has a very appetizing view of her cleavage. He swallows thickly.

"I need a favor," she says, and her voice is breathy and doing things to him, and he can feel blood and heat flooding to his groin. She looks down and then back up at him with a smile. "Keep it in your pants for now, barrio boy. I need some help with my kid. He's got trouble with a little gang in L.A., you might have heard of them. He needs protection, the kind that won't involve the Fitzpatricks because they don't want a war with the Sharks. I'm thinking you can help me out. If I'm not enough motivation to sweeten this pot, though I think I am, consider this, his little computer geek girlfriend is knocked up. Think you're up for it?"

Again he swallows thickly, and manages to meet her dark eyes. "Would I be working with the Fitzpatricks? Cause that's kinda against my moral code."

"Hey, they got you off the hook with the murder thing didn't they? Look I'm not asking you to join them. It's not about them, it's about looking after my kid, turns out he's a good investment," she replies.

He snorts. "From what I heard your kid is dead. How bout you tell me the real deal?"

She tilts her head and narrows her eyes at him. "You don't need to know everything. Just that he needs protection, and so does his girlfriend, and yeah I'll throw my stepson into the mix, he's an idiot, but he's got nothing to do with this. You don't have to worry about me. Liam's got me covered."

"And I was really startin' to like you," he replies.

"You owe me, this is how you pay," she snaps.

"Fine," he replies, "But I'm doing this for Mac and the kid. I know about Beaver, but I won't say anything. I can't say I won't try to break his face when I see him, but I'll try to hold back for Mac, I kinda owe her for my diploma."

"How do you know?" she asks.

"You're not the only one with resources," he replies and stands up when she straightens and backs away from him.

She lets out a growl of displeasure. "So the little blonde Nancy Drew knows. I told him to get out of town, but no, does the kid listen to me? He sticks around for his idiot brother and knocked up girlfriend. He's going to get himself killed if he keeps this up! How long before she spills?"

"She's not going to say anything. She can't do that to Mac, because she knows it'll hurt her. And hey, it's a testament to a man's character to stick around and take responsibility for a kid. He can't be all bad if he's willing to stick around, and he probably loves her," Weevil says with a shrug, and he notices when she picks up a vase from her vanity.

He hightails it out of her bedroom as the vase collides with the wall and wonders what's got her silk panties in a knot.

* * *

He smiles as she leans closer against him, her nose nuzzling the base of his throat as his arm tightens across her shoulders and they continue to watch the movie. Actually she's watching the movie, he's too busy looking down at her with the silliest grin on his face, because he still can't believe that normal is possible after everything. His fingers are idly playing with the freshly dyed green streaks in her hair, and he likes that she's getting back to the way she used to be, that things are kind of settling down for them.

Not that it's easy, her cravings are disgusting at the best of times, her reaction to the smell of lasagna is scary, and her volatile temperament when it comes to anything related to his brother or his brother's lack of brains is enough to test anyone's patience, even though Dick deserves most of the nagging and short comments.

He shifts his gaze to the door at the sound of it opening, and he wonders if he'll have to kick Dick out again for his own sanity as much as his brother's physical well-being, because who knew Mac could throw a punch that would leave Dick with a black eye?

Now that is a conversation that would put a smile on anyone's face to have witnessed, just because it was so damn funny.

_"Someone's getting fat," Dick says as he watches Mac devour another bowl of raspberry sherbet ice cream._

_"I'm pregnant!" she growls in retaliation._

_Dick shrugs. "I know."_

_Cassidy shakes his head as Mac storms off to their bedroom with her ice cream and then he looks at his brother. "It might be in your best interest if you don't mention her weight."_

_Dick, of course is oblivious. "Dude, pregnant chicks are like so touchy."_

_"It's called hormones, Dick."_

_Dick snorts. "Yeah, whatever. Up for me kicking your ass at some Halo 2?_

_Cassidy rolls his eyes, and before either of them can pick up a controller Mac storms back into the living room, slaps Cassidy on the shoulder and then nails Dick in the face with a mean right hook. _

_"What the fuck?" Dick snaps and looks at Mac, who is shaking her fist out._

_"I'm not touchy," she grinds out and then retreats to the bedroom again._

He has a grin on his face, which withers quickly once the door is flung open and then slammed shut behind Kendall. Her dark eyes are sparking with anger, her nostrils are flared, and she's wearing her full on bitch face, the kind that strikes terror in Dick.

Cassidy can't help but think, 'Oh shit, what now?' At Mac's gaze shifting up to look at him, he sincerely hopes he didn't say that out loud.

"Turn the damn television down, because you are so not drowning out this bitchy moment of the millennia!" Kendall growls, and Cassidy reaches for the remote, presses the mute button, and asks, "Okay, so what the hell are you doing here? And why are you pissed at me?"

"Because you are a royal idiot! I thought your brother was the dim light bulb in the family, but you've managed to out do him! Do you realize what you've done?! I've got some common street thug barrio boy coming to my door bragging about little miss blondie bear detective knowing who you really are! Do you know how serious this is? Not only can your dumb ass get caught and arrested for all sorts of shit, but I'm a freaking accomplice! I'm not going to jail for you or anyone ever again!"

"Are you saying that Veronica Mars knows?"

"Like it's that much of a stretch to figure out with the way you're parading all over Neptune! Why not take out an add in the paper, dumb ass!" Kendall growls.

Mac finally speaks up. "I know Veronica, and if she hasn't said anything by now, she's not going to."

"Yeah, she has to have some evidence first," Cassidy pipes up bitterly, and then winces as Mac turns on him.

"Excuse me, but I doubt my friend would do something like that without warning me first! She knows how I feel about you and she knows about the baby! She might not trust you, but I think she trusts my judgment!" Mac's voice is loud and sharp, and even Kendall is impressed with the usually docile girl's show of anger.

"Fine, but Veronica Mars is your problem. Don't come crying to me when you get hauled off to jail, and you better not breathe a word about me helping you, kid. I mean it. As for our little problem, since you didn't want the Fitzpatrick's tailing you I have a better solution. Weevil is out on semi-decent behavior and he paid me a visit. He's willing to play bodyguard, but if he charges, that's your slice of the Phoenix Land Trust pie, not mine."

Cassidy is momentarily thrown by Kendall's change in mood, but shakes it off as he replies, "Done. I'll have to find a way of meeting with him to get the details and a fee set."

"If I were you I wouldn't show up to that little date alone. He has a score to settle with you apparently, because he mentioned something about wanting to pound your face in. I'm thinking I'm better off not knowing the details there," Kendall replies and then turns toward the door, her perfectly manicured fingers closing on the door handle.

"Wait," Mac calls out to her. "Where did you get a key?"

Kendall snorts as she looks at them over her shoulder, and she can barely contain the choked feeling in her throat as she realizes just what they mean to each other, and she's almost jealous. "Please, my name is on the lease for this little love nest of yours. Of course I'm going to have a key."

It is with that comment that Kendall leaves. No one could ever accuse her of not knowing how to make a headlining entrance, or exit for that matter.

As Cassidy and Mac settle back on the couch, and he takes the television off mute, the door opens a few minutes later, and this time it's Dick. He walks in with a bewildered expression on his face and a half-gallon of raspberry sherbet as a peace offering to Mac, and a half-gallon of chocolate ice cream for himself. He retreats to the kitchen, sensing the tension in the room, and walks back in a few minutes later with three heaping bowls of ice cream. He gives a bowl of chocolate to Cassidy, the raspberry sherbet to Mac, and keeps the third bowl filled with chocolate and covered with chocolate syrup for himself as he sits in the chair next to the couch and notices the chick flick on the television.

He makes a face, but doesn't complain, as he now fears the wrath of Mac. He looks up at her, hesitation in his voice, as his left eye is still kind of sore, not to mention bruised from her hitting him the other night. "Lookin' good, Mackie, so how's the bun doing?"

Mac turns a fierce glare on him and Cassidy spoons some ice cream in his mouth and hopes for the best as he is the one sitting between them, and he's already managed to piss Mac off with his earlier comments about Veronica Mars.

Dick quickly amends with, "Kid. How's the kid doing?"

* * *

Please review!


	10. TEN

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Ten:

Sitting across from Eli "Weevil" Navarro iss uncomfortable to say the least, especially knowing that Weevil wants to hurt him, and is quite capable of doing so. He doesn't even realize he isn't breathing until Mac puts her hand on his and gives his hand a squeeze. He lets his breath out in a rush, and swallows thickly, and he notices when Weevil lifts a brow and grins at him menacingly. Maybe he should rethink having the Fitzpatricks tailing him instead.

"So, you go from one little problem to the next. Tell me Richie Rich, just how do you expect to buy your way out of this. You know you probably could have beaten the mass murder rap with a nice lawyer and the temporary insanity plea. I mean a little community service and a few visits to a pricey shrink, and you wouldn't have had to bother faking a swan dive off the tallest building in Neptune," Weevil says by way of greeting.

Cassidy stiffens, and Mac shifts her gaze to the former biker and sighs. "Weevil, please, try to be civil."

"Why should I be civil after what he did to all those kids on that bus and after what he did to Veronica? What I don't get is how you can stand to be here with him, knowing what kind of monster he is and how can you subject a kid to that, even if he is the father?" Weevil replies, and then closes his eyes with a wince as Mac looks as though she's just been slapped.

Cassidy quickly comes to her defense. "Look, I know I've done horrible things. I'm not even going to attempt to justify it or defend myself, but I regret the bus crash and what I did to Veronica."

"Yeah," Weevil says. "But have you told her you're sorry?"

"Honestly, I don't know how to face her now that she knows who I am," he replies.

Mac cuts in before another word can be said, "Look, this is about needing your help. If Kendall is this shaken up over this whole mess then it's big trouble, and I'm afraid for the baby and for Cassidy. I know you probably don't like him and you think I'm crazy for being here with him now after everything, but he isn't that person anymore. He isn't Beaver anymore. Please Weevil. It's kind of a job offer too. We're asking you to be like our bodyguard, well mine mostly."

"You're trying to hire me, like you can buy me off or something?" he replies and sounds offended.

"I'm trying to hire you to protect Cindy. She wants you because she knows you and you're her friend. I'm willing to pay for her protection. I don't matter, but her and the baby; they're the world to me. It's a prime offer, a five figure monthly salary to begin with, ten thousand dollars to keep her safe," Cassidy says.

Weevil nods as he considers, and then he looks at Mac and he's stunned to see how she looks at Cassidy, and how he's so protective of her, and he kind of gets why Veronica is choosing to just let it be. There is love there, and it would be a tragedy to break it apart for them, for Mac. His eyes drift to Mac's swelling stomach, and he's still kind of blown away that she really is pregnant. He never would have thought that one of the smartest girls in high school would get knocked up on graduation night.

"Fine, I'll accept the offer, but I would have for less," he replies, and he gives Mac a sincere smile before he reaches out his hand.

Cassidy looks at the offered hand for a moment before he takes it and Weevil's grip is firm as they shake hands. Then Weevil gets up and walks out of the kitchen and pauses at the front door. "You know, I'm doing this for Mac and the kid. You better prove Mac right, because if you haven't changed, you won't have to worry about Veronica ruining you and exposing your secrets. I'll bury you before she makes it that far."

Weevil opens the door and leaves the apartment. Cassidy lets out a slow breath and Mac's arm is across his shoulders and he leans forward, his elbows on the table, and his hands on either side of his head, his fingers threading into his hair. His body gives a small shudder as Mac leans down and presses a light kiss across the top of his hand. He lifts his head and looks at her, tears brimming in his dark eyes as he whispers, "Maybe it's time I face Veronica. I do owe her a huge apology."

Mac swallows thickly, and her voice trembles as she asks, "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

He shrugs. "I'll never be ready, but I can't wait forever. It's not like I expect her friendship or forgiveness afterward. I just need to clear some of the shit between us before the baby arrives, and let her know it's okay to come around to see you. I don't want to be something between you and your friends, because I know it's hard on you and you've been avoiding her because of me and that's got to stop."

Mac wraps her arms around him and he leans into her touch, desperate for her warmth, and craving the contact. The resurrection part isn't so hard; it's the redemption that's tough.

* * *

She wanders into the little kitchen area of the office and pours herself a cup of coffee and adds lots of sugar to the cup before she takes a sip of the warm, caffeinated beverage in the mug with a small sigh of content. Her ears perk and her head tilts to the side at the sound of the door of the office opening.

She straightens and steps out of the kitchen area to greet the potential client and nearly drops her mug at the sight of him. He's dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a button up shirt thrown over it and left unbuttoned. He's got on a pair of sneakers and he looks like any other normal high school student, although the blue highlights in his brown hair add a bit of edge to his look. Her breath is stuck in her throat, because this is the first time she's seen him since really knowing for sure who he is, and she is alone with him.

He looks nervous. His hand is playing with his collar, and he's fidgeting, swaying back and forth on his feet and darting glances at her when he can manage to tear his gaze away from the floor, the table, the couch, chairs, wall.

"What are you doing here?" she manages to ask, and she's surprised that she sounds so calm and collected, because inside she's confused and hasn't got a clue as to what her next move should be, because she wants more than anything to hit him and throw accusations at him before throwing him out of her dad's place of business.

"Uh…um… Hi, Veronica," he begins nervously, a shy tremor in his voice before he suddenly looks up and meets her eyes and she's floored by the remorse and the pain reflected in those dark brown eyes and she's reminded once again of that night on the roof of the Hotel Grand.

"Again, what are you doing here?"

He clears his throat, swallows a few times, and finally answers her. "About that night at Shelly Pomroy's party. I'm sorry. I was pissed off at Dick for putting me down and I wanted to show him that I was a man, but once I was touching you it became different and I had to keep it to myself, a secret for just me to know, and then you found out about that night and I lied to cover my ass. Look I don't know what I was thinking that night, not really, and I don't have any excuses, and knowing what I know about you now, and about myself, and how I hurt you… I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry and if I could take it back I would."

"And here I thought it was funny when Dick found out what you did to me and apologized for leaving you in the room with me," she replies dryly, with a slight hint of bitterness to her tone.

He drops his gaze to the floor, and turns to leave, but she calls after him, "Cassidy, wait."

He turns to look back at her, a bit surprised that she would stop him from leaving. "I get that you were really messed up then. I hate what you did to me. You realize that they used the chlamydya against me in my testimony against Aaron Echolls, and my dad found out in that courtroom. You humiliated me and I'm sure you already have a pretty good list of your crimes in that demented little head of yours, so I won't continue to remind you of it all. This isn't easy for me, you know."

He nods. "I get it. I didn't come here looking for forgiveness; I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and that you're welcome to visit Cindy whenever you want. She misses you. I can leave the apartment when you come over if you want, but you really should come see her sometime. It would be good for her."

"It's not easy for me to forgive anyone, it kind of goes against my nature, but I do forgive you, Cassidy. I've let it go, for Mac's sake as much as my own, because sometimes bad things happen to good people, and you either learn to move on from it or you let it eat you alive. I'm not saying we'll be BFF, but I can deal with it," she says quietly, and then an edge enters her voice, "But if you hurt her or the baby, so help me, I will destroy you. I will make sure that every day of the rest of your life will be pure hell. I mean it."

"Why? Why are you willing to keep all of this a secret when you have every reason to hate me?" he asks, curiosity coloring his tone.

Veronica snorts, takes a sip of her coffee and then moves to take a seat at her desk, and she waits for him to take a seat in one of the chairs across from her desk before she answers, "Because Mac is my friend and I don't want to hurt her. She's already been through enough, finding out she's pregnant and then finding out you're alive after thinking you were dead for months. That and she seems to think you've changed, that you aren't the boy from that roof, but someone that she can love. I'm willing to take a chance on her judgment. It's not about you, it's about her. She deserves to be happy. If that's with you then fine, but I suggest you don't fuck up this time."

"I won't," he replies. "There's too much at stake."

"Yeah, you keep that in mind every time you look at her and you better be grateful that she believes in you, because if it weren't for her I'd have handed you over to Lamb weeks ago," she replies sharply, and then she sets her coffee aside and narrows her eyes on him as she really gets down to business. "Now how about you fill me in on this little situation with the Sharks, because I heard you recently hired Weevil to look out for Mac."

* * *

Dick slips the key into the lock of his brother's apartment, and opens the door. His eyes widen and his breath stops at the sound of sobbing as he closes the door behind him and looks in shock at Mac sitting on the couch with a whole tub of raspberry sherbet ice cream, and she's bawling her eyes out. He finally remembers to breathe after a moment.

She looks up at him, and continues to cry, and he's wondering what the hell happened. Did someone die or something?

"Shit! Dude, did someone die or something?" he asks.

"Yeah," she whimpers. "They just pulled the plug on Shelby and she'll never see her little boy grow up and her mom is a total mess and it's just so…so…sad!"

She's wailing at this point and he's wondering who the fuck she's talking about and he walks toward the couch, wondering what he's supposed to do. Maybe hold her, get her some tissue, tell her it's okay, rub her back. Damn why didn't pregnant chicks come with some sort of instruction manual? Not that he would ever read it, but still.

He sits down next to her, takes the bowl of ice cream from her and puts it down on the coffee table before he awkwardly puts his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her, or at least get her to let up with the waterworks, when she swats him away so that she can see the television. Then his eyes widen and he stares at her in disbelief.

"Dude, you're crying over a damn movie?" he says and he's struggling to keep from laughing his ass off.

She glares at him. "_Steel Magnolias_ is not JUST a movie!"

"Yeah, whatever," he says, and then grumbles about never understanding chicks before he's off the couch and in the kitchen fixing a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

He groans when Mac asks him to bring her the jar of pickles in the fridge. He shouts back a compromise. "I'll bring the pickles if you change the channel. I'm not watching some cry fest chick flick with a pregnant chick. Make it funny, sexy, or full of exploding shit."

"You're an asshole, and if you don't bring me those damn pickles I will call my new body guard and have him kick the shit out of you, and I think Weevil would enjoy it!" she calls back.

He swallows thickly, retrieves the jar of pickles, and returns to the living room. About fifteen minutes later when _Steel Magnolias_ goes off he's stuck watching _Beaches_ with her next, and he wonders what he's done lately to deserve the punishment of watching weepy chick movies with a very pregnant and irritable girl. He only hopes that Cassidy will show up soon and end the torment, because he can't stand being around crying girls.

* * *

Cassidy knows something is wrong when he opens his door and hears the sobbing. He kicks the door shut behind him as he rushes toward the couch, and freezes halfway there when he sees Mac crying her eyes out and nearly falls over laughing at the sight of the tear trails on Dick's face as he realizes that Mac has managed to reel Dick into watching angsty drama movies on television. Better Dick than him.

He gives the television a glance as he heads to the kitchen and shakes his head as Bette Midler sings that "Glory of Love" song at the end of the movie. How Mac got Dick to watch _Beaches_ is beyond him, and up until then, he never would have thought it possible.

He walks out of the kitchen with a diet soda and nearly busts out laughing when Dick holds the pickle jar out to Mac and she takes a pickle and bites into it, and Dick gets a pickle and does the same. Oh God, he can't believe what he's seeing. He shakes his head, but Dick is still sprawled out on the chair with tears trailing his face, eating pickles, and Mac is munching on her own pickle in between sniffles, and dabs of a tissue.

"Do you two realize how ridiculous you look?" Cassidy asks with a snicker, because he can't contain himself anymore.

"Dude, shut up, cause this movie is like, totally emo, and you should respect that," Dick defends, and quickly wipes at his eyes as he straightens in the chair.

"Yeah, and your allergies are suddenly acting up too, right?" Cassidy replies with a smirk.

Dick glares at him, and he laughs as he flops down next to Mac on the couch. She leans toward him and he puts his arm around her and draws her close as the credits of the movie start to run on the screen.

"So how did you sucker him into watching chick flicks?" he whispers.

She looks up at him with a watery grin and says, "I threatened him with mood swings and Weevil."

He laughs and shakes his head before he turns to look at his brother in sympathy, because he knows the torment his brother has had to endure. Watching chick flicks with a pregnant woman is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but Dick took it like a man, although he still can't get over the fact that Dick got all weepy. Finally something that he will never let Dick live down.

* * *

Dick flops back on the couch next to his friend and picks up his controller and starts punching buttons and soon his player is ripping the head off of Logan's player. Logan shakes his head. "Someone has some anger issues right now."

"Dude, I so don't want to talk about it," Dick grumbles, and Logan's curiosity is piqued.

"And why not? How embarrassing could it be? It's not like that time where you passed out at that party last year and we stripped you down to your underwear, put a Speedo on your head and Madison did your make-up."

"If only it were that," Dick moans, and Logan knows that whatever has Dick in this little funk is a juicy little tidbit to know.

"Come on, I'm your best friend. You know you can tell me," Logan says and nudges Dick's shoulder with his in a friendly gesture.

Dick takes a deep breath and finally relents. "All right, but you better not tell Ronnie about this! It's bad enough Cass isn't letting me live it down."

Oh yeah, it's good and juicy. Logan makes a rolling gesture with his hands for Dick to just come out with it already, and with a sigh Dick continues, "Fine! I was watching chick flicks with Mac the other night and my allergies started acting up! There okay!"

"Allergies my ass! Man, you don't have allergies! You were watching chick flicks with Mac and you cried. Damn, I didn't know you were the sensitive type," Logan says with a smirk and then he's outright laughing his ass off, and Dick hits him with a pillow and soon the two of them are wrestling around on the floor, their game forgotten, and that is how they are discovered by Veronica, who swears she will never understand male-bonding.

* * *

Please review!


	11. ELEVEN

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Eleven:

The bartender puts a beer down on the bar in front of a dark haired man in his mid to late twenties. The man is a non-descript, dark haired, tattooed thug, save for the long jagged scar that runs over his right eye. His eyes are a cold, light blue that could chill even the bravest to the bone, and the man sitting in the stool next to him, with his bald head, a scar that starts at the left side of his mouth and works down his chin, who has a brawny build and dark eyes, is almost as scary. The bartender knows enough to keep his mouth shut and leave them to their business, because he values his own neck and he doesn't go risking it for anyone.

After nearly a half hour of serving the two men drinks a young guy, probably still in high school comes slinking in through the door of the bar. He gives them a heads up and he's fidgety like he's either high or in desperate need of a fix.

The three of them head off to a table in a dark corner, and the two older thugs have a clear view of the two doors that serve as entrances and exits in the bar. They focus their attention on the jumpy young man in front of them, and he's swallowing thickly, his dark eyes darting around the bar and between the two of them, his breathing is heavy, he's fidgeting like crazy and when his fingers run through his dark curly hair for like the twentieth time in under a minute the two men have had enough.

"Ellie, man, chill," the man with the cold blue eyes and curly dark hair says.

The boy rolls his eyes. "Tony, man, you know I hate being called that. Makes me sound like a girl. If you can't call me Epsy I'll settle for Ellison, anything as long as it ain't Ellie."

"I don't see how it matters much, since you're a pussy anyway," says the bald man in a gruff voice.

Epsy chooses to bite his tongue and train his gaze on the scarred tabletop, because silence is best when dealing with his cousin Anthony Rawley and his bald back up Bones Carver.

"We're not here to catch up, Epsy," and Tony puts some emphasis on the name. "So spill what you got on the Banks kid, we need some good info, cause we owe him big for that scam he set up. Really, bringing a narc in with the Sharks. Not a smart move. Shame he didn't die like we thought, woulda saved me this shitty reunion."

"Grandma misses you too," Epsy bites out, and then sucks in a deep breath, because smarting off to guys like Tony could get someone hurt.

Bones shakes his head and clucks his tongue. "If you weren't blood, kid, you wouldn't have made it past puberty. Now business. No smartin' off, cause I ain't as patient as your cousin. I didn't get my name in the boy scouts. Run that mouth off again and a bone is gonna get cracked, and I think I'll start with your jaw."

Epsy swallows thickly. "Well, what exactly do you want to know? He's like a freak, man. He hangs out with the school queer, and word has it that he looks like that kid from Neptune High that blew up the bus and the plane and did a swan dive off the Neptune Grand. He's like crazy. I mean when he's pissed his eyes go all dark and he's shoving a guy three times his size into a wall of lockers. Shit, he had his arm against the quarterback's throat the first day of school. It's like he ain't scared a nothing."

"So you think he's got a boyfriend? That would make him vulnerable," Tony says.

Epsy shakes his head. "It's not like that. Banks has a girl, she shows up at lunch sometimes and brings take out, and there's this guy that shows up with her sometimes, some blonde surfer boy 09er, I think his name is Dick or something. They say he was that psycho kid's older brother. They seem kinda tight."

Bones nods and looks at Tony, and the wheels are starting to turn in Tony's head. Tony looks at Epsy, and the look in those cold blue eyes freezes the blood running in his veins as Tony speaks. "Eps, here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna find out who he hangs out with, their names, I wanna know about the chick, and the surfer boy. Friends make people vulnerable. Also, find out who his parents are. Sounds like this boy could be a momma's boy. I wanna know about his family, his life, his daily routine, you got it? Don't get too close in with him, I don't want him to know someone's watching, but you dig up the dirt like the little rat you are."

Epsy nods and takes that as his cue to leave. As he gets up he freezes and a chill runs up his spine as Tony adds, "Oh and Ellison, if you fuck this up, blood won't matter. He better not see us coming."

Bones is chuckling as Epsy practically runs out of the bar and then he turns to Tony with a dark smile on his face, made all the more sinister with the scar that twists his lips. "I think he might have pissed himself, Tony."

Tony chuckles. "You had it right when you called him a pussy, but he's got his uses."

"So what do you think? When do we go after Banks? We owe that little shit big time. I mean we go through all the trouble of beating him to within an inch of his life and toss him off a bridge in the park and the fucker doesn't even have the respect to die. What's with kids these days?"

Tony shrugs. "Wish I could tell you Bones. As for making a move, I'm not so sure yet. We have to be patient with this one, there's too many toes we can step on in Neptune, and we don't want any trouble with the Fitzpatricks and who knows if the kid has weaseled his way in with them. We have to play it safe, because Liam Fitzpatrick isn't someone you idly fuck with, he'd kill his own brother over money."

"Got that, but how we going to get to him, shake him up, rattle him before we go straight for his throat?"

"That's easy, we see what Epsy digs up on his friends and any family he might have and we go through them. If there is anyone he legitimately cares about here, then we start there. More than likely it'll be the girl, or possibly his mother if we find out who she is. Banks never was forthcoming on his family, except to say he really hated that uncle who put him up in Phoenix. And this 09er kid, we might be able to get a ransom for a little kidnapping as a side gig. There's a lot to work with, but we still play it safe. This ain't our territory," Tony replies.

* * *

He smiles as he pulls open the door, he's starting to get really acquainted with the Mars Investigations office and he likes visiting Veronica. She's one of the few friends he has, and to be honest he needs an escape from the pregnant chick and the idiot surfer boy that he's been hired to baby-sit almost twenty-four-seven. He really thinks he might end up killing Dick if he stays with them in the apartment until Cassidy comes home. He's actually surprised that Mac hasn't already offed the asshole yet, cause she's come pretty damn close to it. He's even offered to stash the body for her.

The door is swinging shut behind him when he looks toward the couch and his eyes burn and he really wishes that he could be struck blind just for a second, anything to stop this particular image from being permanently burnt into his skull, but no such luck.

Veronica and Logan Echolls are on the couch sucking face like there's no tomorrow. In his opinion they are lucky he isn't Keith Mars, because he's pretty sure the former sheriff would have something to say about this particular display. Logan is lucky he's still alive.

"Don't you ever come up for air?" he asks, and smirks as the two jump, jerk apart, and then send twin glares in his direction. "Geez, finally, and here I thought I was going to be ignored for the next half hour while you two made out on the love seat."

Logan is biting his tongue while Veronica straightens out her shirt and fixes Weevil with a very meaningful look. "And the point of this visit is?"

He shrugs. "What? No thanks for not being your dad? You know if he'd walked in on what I just saw he'd kill your little boyfriend."

"Wow, is that concern for my general well being?" Logan bites out.

"Yeah, cause we're the best of friends," Weevil returns with equal venom, and then he sighs and runs his hand over his bald head. "Look I needed a break from Mac and that stupid 09er asshole, and it would be my luck that I would run into another 09er, but can't have everything."

"So you had to deal with Dick too?" Veronica says in sympathy.

"Yeah, he insisted on coming along with us. Have you ever been in a baby store with a guy who's got the attention span of a two year old?" Weevil asks with a shudder.

"No, and I hope I never am," Veronica says and wrinkles her nose at the thought.

Weevil nods. "Yeah, I was giving her a little advice on practical things she'd need for the baby, you know, your basic changing table, cribs verses bassinets, car seats, bottles, that sort of thing, and Dick is just all over the place playing with every fucking noisy ass, light up toy in the place and I think he bought out the entire stuffed animal section of the store, I mean, what is with just blowing that kind of money? Think of the practical stuff first and then blow the money after, not like it's all that big a deal to him since his Daddy earned all that money and he can't possibly spend it in ten lifetimes let alone one, but still."

"So how close did you come to killing him?" Logan asks idly.

Weevil actually does a count on his fingers. "I think I was exercising restraint today. I only threatened his life a few times and I might have thrown him against a wall like once, maybe twice, but I don't think the second time counts, because I more like tripped him up and he landed face first in a pile of stuffed animals. Does that count?" he asks with a shrug. "Mac thought it was funny."

"Nice, now what's the reason behind the visit, because you usually don't come calling just out of the blue," Veronica says.

Weevil chuckles. "Oh come on. I can't pay my pretty little blonde friend a visit every now and then? I thought you liked me, chica."

Logan narrows his eyes on Weevil, and Weevil smirks.

"Play nice, and tell me what you got for me," she says.

"Fine, but I should probably mention this to Cassidy and Kendall at some point," he replies, and at Veronica's raised brow he continues, "I heard that the leader of the Sharks and his number one toadie are in town visiting relatives. These guys are bad news, V. I'm talking Anthony Rawley and Bones Carver, they're up there in that league with Liam Fitzpatrick and his crazy brother in the slammer, Cormac. These are people you don't fuck with or fuck over. Meaning this is serious if these are the people after Cassidy."

"How bad can they be?" Logan asks. "I mean if they come here sniffing around they can't be all that smart."

"Don't underestimate them. They'll head out in a few days, but they'll have someone watchin', and they'll be planning their next move. If they think they got business with Cassidy they won't forget about it, and these guys are bad. They run weapons, drugs, beatings, and they even kill for money. They're only loyal to blood and blood runs thin if you fuck up bad enough. And Tony Rawley, I've heard things about him. He's one cold son of a bitch. He'd just as soon knife you or shoot you as look at you. He's crazy, and he's smart. Once he waited two years before he killed this dirty cop that fucked him over, but he got him, and he doesn't stop until the debt is paid, and you'll never know when he strikes," Weevil says, and Veronica and Logan both notice the wariness in his tone.

Veronica nods. "So this is bad. You warn Cassidy and give Kendall a heads up so she can bring in her connections on this. As for my end, I'll see what I can dig up on Tony Rawley and Bones Carver. See if they have any connections in town, I'll start with Rawley's family, because they might be his eyes and ears in Neptune."

"Try looking up Epsy too," Weevil says as an after thought.

"Epsy?" Veronica asks.

"Ellison Machado, they call him Epsy. He's this cracked out kid, he got expelled from Neptune High for possession last year, but I think he's Tony's cousin or something. That might be something to go on."

Veronica nods, and goes to her desk. Logan flops back on the couch in disappointment as he realizes that the make out session is over, and Weevil takes this as his cue to leave. He only hopes this meeting with Kendall will go better than last time, because he hates it when chicks throw shit in the general direction of his head.

* * *

A huge smile passes over his face as the lunch bell finally sounds. He's been a wreck all day waiting for lunch so that he could take off to be with Mac at the doctor's appointment. He's headed toward the doors when Will comes out of nowhere, and falls into step with him.

"So, Cass, where you off too? I mean you do remember the English mid-term right?" he asks.

Cassidy snorts. "I've got it in the bag, and Mac's got a doctor's appointment. I told her I'd be there. The doctor says she'll be able to tell us the gender of the baby if we want to know, and I can't wait. I mean I know I've seen the pictures of all the previous ultra-sounds, but I'll be there this time and get to see the baby moving! How awesome is that?"

"Planning on skipping school, Mr. Banks? What about midterms? You know that rescheduling is out of the question unless you are absent. Skipping class does not count as an absence," Principal Rutledge says, as he steps out from around the corner.

Cassidy rolls his eyes, as Will heads off toward the cafeteria before he gets a sharp word from the principal too. So Cassidy looks at the principal, a dumpy, slightly balding man, who despite looking comical has a strong air of authority about him.

"Look, Mr. Rutledge, I have somewhere I have to be," he replies.

"More important than mid-terms? How about we step into my office to discuss this matter further?" the principal challenges.

"A doctor's appointment."

"Which doctor? Are you ill, Mr. Banks?"

"I'm going to see Dr. Evenson."

"Dr. Evenson is a gynecologist. That was a nice try though, Mr. Banks, now let's take this discussion into my office, so that I can get your mind back on your education rather than wherever it has wondered off to."

"I'd like to, but I'm not going to be late to my girlfriend's doctors appointment. I told her I would be there, and this will be the first ultra-sound I get to see. We're going to have a baby, and to me that's more of a priority than a couple of exams that I can pass in a breeze," he says.

"A baby? And are your parents aware of this? Who is this girlfriend of yours? Does she attend school here?" Mr. Rutledge asks, his shock evident by the look on his face.

Cassidy snorts. "Not that my mom cares, but she knows about the baby, and Cindy goes to Hearst. She's taking all of her classes electronically, and the baby is due in mid-march, I think around the twentieth.

The principal gives a short nod. "Very well, Mr. Banks, considering the circumstances of this appointment, I'll get with your teachers about rescheduling. However, I would suggest that you not make this a habit. I would like some evidence of your whereabouts however, maybe a doctor's note?"

"How about I just show you the pictures from the ultra-sound? We'll be finding out if it's a boy or a girl today, well I think we will. It depends on if Cindy wants to know or not."

"Yes, well," Mr. Rutledge clears his throat. "Congratulations, and go on. I wouldn't want you to be late for this particular appointment."

"Thanks," Cassidy says as he continues on his way out the door and toward the student parking lot where his blue KIA Sportage awaits.

* * *

Mac rolls her eyes as she lifts up her shirt and the doctor, Jillian Evenson, a statuesque woman with rich auburn hair pulled back in a messy bun, and a pair of prim black rimmed glasses perched on her nose, squirts petroleum jelly on her swollen stomach. The jelly is cold, and the doctor spreads it along her skin, and it kind of tickles in places.

She smiles when Cassidy gives her hand a squeeze as a small giggle escapes her lips, and then Dr. Evenson is moving the instrument attached to the monitor over her belly and pressing down in places, and there's the baby appearing in the fuzz of the monitor, and Mac's smile broadens at the look of awe on Cassidy's face as he stares at the screen, entranced as the baby moves with the pressure applied by the instrument.

"Oh good, you've got a healthy one. And have you two decided if you want to know the gender?" she asks gently.

Cassidy looks down at Mac, and Mac can't resist as she sees the look in his eyes and gives a nod.

"Well, Cindy, Cassidy, say hello to your little girl," she replies.

"A girl?" Cassidy asks, his voice barely above a whisper as he bends down and presses a kiss to Mac's forehead, and then he lowers his hand to Mac's belly, not caring about the stickiness of the jelly as he feels the fluttering movements of his little girl growing inside of Mac.

A few moments later Dr. Evenson is printing out stills of the ultra-sound, gives Mac a few paper towels to clean up the jelly on her stomach, and directs Cassidy to the sink so he can wash his hands.

She's about to leave the room to let Mac finish straightening her clothes when she turns to look at the two of them. She'd been surprised when she found out that the father of Cindy Mackenzie's baby was still in high school, but for that boy to shoulder the responsibility and be here for this appointment, and if his expression is anything to go by, Cindy Mackenzie is a very lucky young woman, because Cassidy Banks obviously cares for her and the baby.

"Congratulations to you both, and it was nice meeting you today Mr. Banks. It's always good to have the father so dedicated during a pregnancy," she says as she steps out of the examining room.

Cassidy looks shyly at Mac, his fingers fidgetting with his collar as he sways back and forth on his feet, and Mac gives him a playful punch in the shoulder, before she wraps her arms around his waist. His arms find their way around her as she rests her head on his shoulder, and his right hand finds its way to her pregnant belly.

"So, Daddy, how does it feel to know you're going to have a little girl?" she asks with a small grin.

He takes in a deep breath. "Amazing. I can't wait to hold her, and see her. She'll be beautiful like you, and she won't date until she's thirty, that's going to be a strict rule, and you let any boys look at her the way Dick leers at woman and they'll be eunuchs."

She chuckles. "She can start dating at eighteen, because after all those tumultuous teen years we'll definitely want her out of the house. So, now that we know it's a girl we can start picking out names, and no. There will be no input from your brother about what we are naming our daughter."

"I agree with you completely," he replies and drops a kiss down on her nose, before they head out of the examination room, and towards reception to take care of the bill.

* * *

Dick is sprawled across the couch, playing video games. He throws his hands up in the air as he rips the spine out of his opponent and he lets out a victory cry as the door of the apartment opens and Mac and Cassidy walk inside. He hits the pause button and looks up at the two of them, an expectant look on his face.

"So, how's the bun?" he asks.

"Will you please, for the love of God and Radioshack, stop calling her a bun!" Mac snaps, and both she and Cassidy are surprised by Dick's reply.

"She? I'm going to have a niece! A little mini-I-Mac is going to be calling me Uncle Dick! Sweet! So like what are you naming her? Paris? Nikki? Catalina?"

Cassidy tightens his grip across Mac's shoulder and distracts her with a kiss to the corner of her mouth so that she doesn't outright attempt to kill Dick. She pushes him away moodily and heads to the kitchen, but not before sending the force of a thousand death glares in Dick's direction.

Dick shudders and then turns to Cassidy, as he shakes his head at his little brother. "Dude, this is so awesome! So like where are the pictures?"

Cassidy grins as he joins Dick on the couch and shows him the stills from the ultra-sound. Dick takes the stills from Cassidy and looks at them. His forehead scrunches up as he tilts his head and then turns the pictures in his hands. Finally he looks to Cassidy for clarification.

"Dude? Are you sure it's a girl and not some weird ass alien broadcast?"

Cassidy rolls his eyes as he points to the baby's head, and finally Dick sees it. "This is way cool, so can you like make copies, because I can so score with a chick when I show them pics of my future niece!"

"Um, no. Now are you staying for dinner?"

"Only if it's pizza and you order a meat lovers to go with the veggie lovers," Dick replies.

"I think I can swing that."

A few minutes later Cassidy is calling Cho's pizza and placing the order. Mac is eying the television warily as Dick sighs, turns off the game console and selects a DVD to put in. He holds up the selection, "Big Daddy" for Mac's approval, and he's relieved when she nods. Thank God, no chick flick. If he's forced to endure "Sleepless in Seattle" one more time his allergies will overwhelm him.

He settles down in the chair next to the couch as the menu for the movie pops up on screen and he starts musing aloud. "So should I start buying baby techno geek gear for mini-Mac?"

Mac leans forward and slaps him in the back of the head. Dick rubs his head where she hit him and sends her a hurt look. "What? I thought chicks were totally into turning their kids into little nerdy geeks. I mean don't you have that Mozart shit you play at night?"

Dick decides to shut up at the murderous expression on Mac's face and he hurries into the kitchen where a moment later he comes back with a fresh jar of pickles as a peace offering, because he knows Mac will still have room for pizza when it gets here. He looks at her warily and sighs, because he knows better than to bring up her weight again.

'Man was that a hard lessoned learned, but learned it was,' he thinks as he self-consciously rubs his shin where she'd kicked him the last time he'd commented on her continuously growing appetite.

* * *

Please review!


	12. TWELVE

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Twelve:

Judging from the look on Tony Rawley's face, Bones Carver knows that something is up, and not in a good way. Tony is sitting on a stool his elbow on the bar, and he's running his knuckles along his chin, with a far off look in his eyes. Finally Tony shakes himself and then his arm sweeps violently across the bar and is beer his thrown to the floor, the glass bottle shattering. Onlookers that realize its Tony quickly turn away.

Bones waits patiently for Tony to say whatever is on his mind. Finally Tony opens his mouth. "We could get fucked over on this deal. Looks like Banks is well connected. I had our eyes in the local five-o do a little digging. Turns out the kid's mom's name is Priscilla Banks, and now this really took some digging, but she was involved in a car crash where a Kendall Shifflet died, right? Turns out this Kendall Shifflet married some rich asshole, a year or so ago, but here's the kicker, the Kendall Shifflet that married this rich asshole was originally Priscilla Banks who did a stint in the pen for Cormac Fitzpatrick. She's royalty to the Fitzpatricks, which makes her son a fucking prince! God dammit! I was hoping we could snatch his mother because he always seemed like the momma's boy pussy type. Epsy better come up with something for me to work with."

"Tony, this is deep if we cross the Fitzpatricks. Our ammunitions suppliers are tight with the Fitzpatricks. They wouldn't think twice of turning on us for those micks!"

"Yeah, but we can't let that little shit get away with what he did! He drew blood! A fucking narc, Bones. We don't let shit like that ride. It's makes us look weak and we're Sharks. We ain't weak."

"Being smart and being weak are two different things. You told me that once," Bones replies.

Tony slams his hand down on the bar before he turns a glare on Bones, and Bones knows he's gone too far. "And since when the fuck have you been allowed to throw my own advice in my face?"

Bones backs down. "Since never Tony. I'm only saying, we gotta go in this knowing everything."

"You're right, this is tricky, but we're gonna get that little son of a bitch. No one plays the Sharks, not even the prince of the micks."

* * *

Mac lifts her hand to the door once more, and drops it. She shifts her gaze to Cassidy who is fidgeting nervously beside her, and then Dick cuts in between them and begins to pound on the door until Mac's mother answers it. She pulls open the door and sweeps Mac into a huge hug, asking about the baby and kissing her cheeks and inviting her in, before she warily glances at Cassidy and Dick as they enter the Mackenzie household.

This is the first time that Natalie Mackenzie has laid eyes on either Casablancas brother since she found out about her daughter's condition. She calls Mac, and Mac comes over to visit, and it's an all around pleasant way of doing things, though Samuel Mackenzie, Mac's father, is always asking about the father of the baby. It is because of his suggestion that Cassidy and Dick are joining Mac's family for Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.

Mac has a smile on her face as she walks into the living room and her dad gives her a hug and then she's sitting in his favorite chair, the suede swivel recliner. She laughs when he pulls the leaver and her legs are thrown up and she leans back in the chair, and then her dad looks up at the two boys that are standing awkwardly in his living room and staring around at the Christmas tree and various decorations. One, a dark haired boy who looks very familiar is fidgeting nervously with his collar, and the other, a tall blonde surfer type is just looking around with a sort of bored look on his face.

"So, Cindy, now that you're off your feet, mind telling me who our guests are for dinner?" he asks her.

She swivels the chair around and holds her hand out and the dark haired boy steps forward and takes it, and Samuel watches the two, and he has a sinking suspicion that this boy is the reason for his daughter's present condition, but he chooses to bite his tongue for the moment, because it's not possible. The father of his grandchild is dead, but this dark haired boy with blue highlights in his hair is looking more and more familiar, like that boy that Mac use to bring around, the boy who broke his daughter's heart and left her with a baby to worry about.

"Well, Dad, this is Cassidy Banks, and we've been seeing each other for a while now. I'm sorry I didn't bring him around sooner, but we were trying to adjust to everything and he's been busy studying for mid-terms," Mac says.

"Mid-terms? So you met Cindy at college?" he asks and his eyes narrow on Cassidy.

Cassidy swallows thickly and he is reminded of the first time he came to the Mackenzie home to pick Mac up for a date. Her father still has that protective look down. It's a look that says, "Hurt my daughter, and they'll never find the body."

"Actually I'm going to Pan High. Cindy and I met through my company, Phoenix Land Trust. I had my mother hire her to work on the website, and maintain it. She actually hired a private detective to find out who her new boss was and she ended up on my doorstep, and everything just kind of fell into place from there," Cassidy says, and slowly lets out his breath.

Dick, of course, is finally tuning into the conversation and he shoulders Cassidy and says, "Dude, please! You had it bad for her the moment you laid eyes on Mackie! You were totally into her."

"And you are?" Samuel asks as he turns to Dick.

Dick holds out his hand. "I'm Dick Casablancas, and it's rocking to finally meet you Mr. Mac, cause like your daughter is all kinds of cool when she's not cleaning out the salad bar at a buffet."

Samuel actually snorts as he turns to his daughter and sees her indignant expression. "Well, Dick, Cassidy, welcome and Merry Christmas. Say… Casablancas… You wouldn't be related to…"

"The bun is my niece to be, Mr. Mac," Dick says with a wink, and Mac drops her head into her hands, her cheeks blazing in embarrassment.

Dick just called the baby a bun in front of her father. She wonders what else can go wrong when her brother, Ryan, comes tearing down the stairs and runs straight into Cassidy, knocking the both of them to the floor. Ryan climbs off of Cassidy and sends a rude gesture in Cassidy's generally direction while Cass is trying to catch his breath from having the wind knocked out of him. Dick looks at Ryan and his face lights up when Ryan settles down in front of the television and clicks on the gaming console hooked up to it.

"Ryan! Can't you forget about that game for five minutes? I don't know why we agreed to let you have it early," Natalie says as she walks into the living room from the kitchen. "Oh and dinner is ready. Come and fix your plates."

Soon Samuel, Natalie, Mac, and Cassidy are sitting around in the living room eating while Dick and Ryan are trying to kill each other in a martial arts battle to end all battles in the Mortal Kombat verse.

Cassidy's plate is full of a little bit of everything, even turkey, and dressing, and Samuel says, "So you aren't a vegetarian, like our Cindy."

"No, I do like a little protein every now and then, and this dressing is pretty good by the way," he replies, with a cautious glance in Natalie's direction.

She snorts, but doesn't reply beyond that. Natalie and Mac are doing little more than pushing food around their plates. Cassidy notices Mac's loss of appetite, leans toward her and whispers, "You should try to eat something."

She rolls her eyes, spears a carrot with her fork and then she crunches on it loudly as she sends him a small glare.

"So, have you thought of any names for the baby, Cindy?" her dad asks.

"Actually Cassidy and I have come up with a few, but we haven't settled on anything yet," she replies with a forced smile.

"And why are you discussing it with him? It's not like he's the father. I mean we all know it was that psycho kid that jumped off the Neptune Grand," Ryan pipes up from the floor and then he gives a cheer as he kills Dick's player.

Dick stiffens, Mac freezes, Cassidy is biting his tongue and slipping his arm around her shoulder, hoping that she doesn't start crying. Natalie is watching her daughter and Cassidy. Samuel gets up and looks down at Ryan before he points to the kitchen and barks out, "March now."

Ryan throws his controller down and goes to the kitchen where Mac's father vents his anger and outrage at bringing that up at all, let alone on Christmas Eve. While they are busy in the kitchen, Natalie narrows her eyes on Cassidy and her daughter and says, "I didn't think this would work out. Isn't it bad enough what you've done to our daughter? But to continue to do this to her and to us! Why can't you just leave her alone?"

Mac stands up and glares at her mother. "Mom, I never thought that I would ever be ashamed of you, because I know what you've gone through for me. I know all about the Sinclairs, and the lawsuit against the hospital, and I know that you and Dad chose to keep me. I love you for that, because you chose me, but I can't just let you tear into Cassidy. He's been through a lot, just let it go. He's not hurting me. Why can't you just see that we're happy, and we're going to have a family soon? Let it go, please," she says, a sob echoing on the last word.

All of the color has drained from Natalie's face as she digests what her daughter has revealed to her. "How did you find out, baby?" she asks, tears filling her eyes as she stands up and brushes the tears from her daughter's cheek and pulls her into a hug, and a small smile plays across her mouth as the bump of her daughter's pregnant belly brushes against her.

Mac takes a deep breath and shrugs. "I always thought something was weird with how different I am from you and Dad and Ryan, so I asked a friend of mine to look into it. I could have made a big deal out of it, but I get it. I mean you chose to keep me when you could have gotten your biological daughter back. That tells me you love me, and you're my mom no matter what. Please, just try to understand that what I have with Cassidy is my choice. You chose me, and now this is what I choose. I'm not asking you to be thrilled, I just want you to be supportive."

She looks down and notices that her daughter's hand is entwined with Cassidy's, and then she notices that Dick is standing on Mac's other side, and he's looking almost as protective as Cassidy, and she sees that they have become as much a part of her daughter's family as she is.

She spares a glance at Dick and Cassidy, and then she nods. "All right, welcome to the family, Dick, Cassidy," she says and then her gaze locks with her daughter's. "And honey, you always have my support. I just worry about you sometimes."

Mac nods. "Thanks Mom," she says with a small smile, and then adds, "And maybe its best if we keep this from Dad. He's kind of touchy about emotions and female stuff."

Her mom laughs a little and with a wink gives a nod, and then decides that a change of subjects is in order. "Yeah, so when your Dad is done with Ryan who's up for presents?"

* * *

"Dude, it's like totally cool that your parents got us something for Christmas, but these are like the fugliest sweaters I've ever seen in my life!" Dick says from the backseat, and for once Mac agrees with him as he holds up the maroon and grey argyle sweater. The black and grey one isn't as bad, but it's still argyle.

"For once I'm agreeing with Dick," Cassidy says, with a small grin, and then he reaches over and takes Mac's hand. "And I'm sorry about earlier. It was pretty awkward with your mom."

"Yeah and what was all that about the Sinclairs? What does Madison's family have to do with you?" Dick asks out of curiosity.

Mac shifts her gaze to Dick, surprised that he'd picked up on that earlier. "Would you believe that I was switched at birth with Madison?"

Dick takes this in, and then his eyes widen and he nearly chokes. "Woah! Shit! Like you could have totally been my girlfriend! Or fucking Lamb!" Dick says, and shudders at the last bit.

"I'm perfectly happy with Cassidy, thank you very much, and I don't even want to think about the current sheriff's love life, or Madison's for that matter," Mac replies.

"Madison doesn't love, she just fucks."

"Dick!" Cassidy bites out. "We get it! Madison is a trashy ho, now drop it, PLEASE!"

The rest of the drive to Cassidy's apartment is mostly filled with Dick munching on some chocolate covered cherries, and pawing through the presents Mac received from her parents which include a lot of baby things, clothes, a diaper bag, some stuffed animals, a baby photo album, and he snorts as he picks up the latest anti-virus software and the new blue and black canvas laptop case.

"Are you going through my stuff? Fine, then you can carry it in!" Mac snaps as she turns around while Cassidy shuts off the engine of his KIA Sportage.

Dick rolls his eyes and groans. "You don't have to make an excuse. I know I'm like the total grunt in this family. You wait till that baby comes and then you're going to be carrying your own weight around. Cause like, I'm not your slave or anything, though I'd make a fine as hell cabana boy."

Cassidy is laughing as Mac reaches back and somehow manages to smack Dick in the back of the head, and Dick is cursing and rubbing his head while they get out of the vehicle.

As they draw nearer to the apartment, with Dick's arms full of presents, Cassidy reaches into his pocket for his keys and grows nervous as his fingers brush across something else. He pauses for a moment, and then pulls the keys out of his pocket. A few minutes later they are inside and Dick is making a second trip to the KIA to get the rest of the stuff, and the leftover's Mac's mom had insisted they take.

While Dick is gone, Mac takes a seat on the couch and then Cassidy sits down next to her, his hands worrying through his blue highlighted hair, and finally reaching into his pocket. Mac is giving him a strange look as he finally takes a deep breath and pulls out a green and gold foil wrapped present from his pocket. He holds it out to her.

She takes it and unwraps it to reveal a small blue velvet box. Her eyes widen as she opens it, and her mouth falls open in surprise. It's simple and beautiful and perfect. Nestled within the blue velvet interior of the small square flip box is a platinum ring set with a round sapphire with two smaller diamonds on either side of it.

She notices when Cassidy shifts and he's suddenly kneeling in front of her, and has a nervous smile on his face as he clears his throat, but before he can speak, Dick walks into the apartment and taking in the scene says, "Dude! Are you proposing? Shit man! Why didn't you give me the heads up? Is that why you took off to the jewelers when you skipped lunch at school last week?"

Mac turns a fierce glare on Dick and Cassidy growls, "Thanks Dick, now shut the FUCK up already!"

A moment later Cassidy turns his attention back on Mac and says, "So, I know the moment is kind of… Anyway… I care a lot about you. I love you Cindy, and we already have a family, and you're everything that I want to wake up to for the rest of my life, so you want to make things a little more official? I mean… Dammit. Will you marry me?"

"I hope the speech was better planned out before Dick ruined the moment," Mac replies with a small grin and a chuckle.

Cassidy rolls his eyes, and then looks at her in all seriousness. She leans down and brushes her lips against his, her arms going around his shoulders. She pulls her mouth back and whispers, "Yes."

He recaptures her mouth in a sweeping kiss of gentle tongues and tentative tasting, and Dick tells them to get a room.

* * *

Weevil shakes his head, wondering what he's done to deserve babysitting a pregnant woman visiting her fiancé at a high school, not to mention how he's her chauffer and currently a delivery boy too. He looks up at the sign over the school, Pan High.

"You do realize you're dating a high schooler? Isn't that like cradle robbing or somethin'? And you haven't brought him lunch since you started to really show. Don't you think this is weird? I mean just a little?" Weevil asks.

Mac fixes him with a glare. "I would have been better off bringing Dick with me."

"Hey, at least I don't refer to your kid as a bun. Say when are you and Cassidy goin' to tie that old knot anyway?"

"We're waiting until he's eighteen. I mean he is emancipated, but we don't want to rush into anything," she says.

Weevil eyes the bump of her pregnant belly beneath the black maternity tunic-like shirt. "Yeah, I can see the not rushin' into anything."

Mac randomly swats her hand at him, and he takes a step back out of her reach. "Calm down with the hormonal rage. It's up to you when you marry the guy that knocked you up. I don't really care. I'm just hanging out with you cause I'm your friend and I have your well being at heart. And kicking the shit out of an 09er for you is a helluva perk. Gotta thank you for that one."

Once they've signed in at the main office as family members and Mac has now officially met with the principal of Pan High, Mr. Rutledge, who congratulates her on the baby, and compliments Cassidy on being a surprisingly responsible and well adjusted young man (to which Weevil snorts and tries to cover up a laugh), they find themselves entering the lunch room.

It doesn't take long for most of the lunchroom conversations to cease once they are in the cafeteria. Most of the students turn to look at Weevil, but they stare as they realize that Mac is pregnant, and they recognize her as the girl that brings take out to the weird kid that hangs out with Will Harpner.

It doesn't take long for Cassidy to approach her, and Will is at his side. Soon she's wrapped up in his arms and he's kissing her and the cafeteria fades into the background, while Weevil's eyes bug out a little and he let's a, "Damn Girl!" escape, along with a low whistle.

When the two part, Will is snatching Mac's left hand and staring down at the platinum engagement ring, practically quivering in excitement.

"Oh my God! He actually did it! He proposed!" he says loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear.

Mac's face flushes with color and Weevil says, "Well, even a guy like me can tell it's the next logical step. But I think they might have gotten a step or two ahead of themselves." He shrugs and continues, "But hey, kids will be kids, right?"

Again Mac smacks him.

"You know you're lucky you're pregnant, cause there aren't too many people that can get away with hittin' me like this," Weevil replies with a grin.

"So what's for lunch?" Cassidy asks, as he spares Weevil a nod of acknowledgement.

"Stir fry, pickles, and peanut butter," she says as they head toward their usual table in the far corner of the lunchroom, and Weevil follows, though his eyes roam across the many faces of the students filling the lunchroom, and then his dark eyes narrow on one face in particular among a group of leather clad thugs, Ellison Machado, and Ellison's gaze is locked firmly on Mac.

Weevil follows Mac, Cassidy, and their little friend to the lunch table, and joins in the dining experience, filing away Epsy's interest in Mac to later be repeated to Veronica and Kendall, because something is definitely up. He can feel it in the very marrow of his bones, and this something is the kind of thing that screams bad things for Mac, because the Sharks start with weaknesses when they make their move for a kill.

* * *

Bones looks up at the sound of Tony's cell ringing. Tony looks at the caller id and recognizes the number with a scowl. He flips the phone open and then a grin, not unlike the cat that's caught the canary and gets the cream, crosses his face, and his eyes sparkle with a hint of hellfire. Something is definitely up and it looks like good news.

Soon Tony is ending the call, and a chuckle escapes his lips as looks at Bones, and claps Bones on the shoulder. "Looks like Epsy came through for once. And here I thought the kid was a completely useless little fuck up."

"So what'd he have to say?" Bones asks.

"Well, we won't have to worry about going after the rich bitch mom that the Fitzpatricks are all on top of. Seems that our boy is a family man now. What could draw out a guy who's all about taking responsibility these days? How about a knocked up girlfriend that brings him lunch at school?"

"Banks knocked up some trick?" Bones snorts in disbelief.

Tony chuckles again, absolutely gleeful at this turn in events. "So it seems. We should wait for some more information, but for the time being, I got an idea for a plan of action. We'll have to find out when she's off on her own, and arrange a nice opportunity to introduce ourselves. After all we are Casey's old friends. It'd be nice to catch up with the little woman, and maybe meet up with him again. Real soon."

* * *

Please review.


	13. THIRTEEN

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Thirteen:

She rolls her eyes as she opens the door and then glares at him as she snaps, "Haven't we already had the discussion about the help coming in through the back?"

"Yeah, but you ain't paying me, chica," Weevil says and mouths a kiss at her, a smirk playing with his lips as her nostrils flare and she steps back so he can enter.

"So, tell me, why are you here, if A: I'm not paying you and B: Cassidy and his little girlfriend aren't here?" she asks.

He shrugs as he looks at her. "Maybe because I got a piece of information that you could do something about. Look, I came straight over after I left Mac with Dick at the apartment. I didn't even stop to visit V, because I believe your boys might have a better edge at dealing with this little problem I noticed today."

She gives him a look that is a cross between incredulous and what the hell, and he shakes his head. "The Fitzpatricks, I'm handing them a bone, all right? Look I hate coming here for this, because well spicks and micks don't get along, but this is about Mac. So anyway I joined her for her little lunch date at school with Cassidy, and yeah everyone was staring. That didn't exactly throw me until I noticed someone who was real interested in the action, Epsy Machado."

"Okay, so some little gang banger is watching them, along with the rest of the school. Your point?" Kendall says, impatience coloring her voice.

"Epsy Machado is Tony Rawley's cousin. You know the leader of the Sharks in L.A. Something's up if he's watchin' em that close, and I noticed he made a phone call while we were eating lunch. My guess is Tony knows about Mac and the baby now, and he's like any heartless hunter. He goes for the weak spots first. If he can't get to you because of your tie in with the Fitzpatricks, he'll go for the next best thing, as he sees it. He'll go for the knocked up girlfriend."

Before Kendall can respond the door is opening again and Liam Fitzpatrick is slipping into the house. "Hey Kendall, what's with the car… Shit. Who the fuck let you in Weevil? You know what we do to little border crossin' spicks like you?"

Weevil snorts and is readying himself for a fight when Kendall steps in between them and fixes Liam with a glare. "Now isn't the time for macho man bullshit, we can dance to the YMCA song later. He's the guy playing bodyguard/babysitter with our investment and the knocked up computer geek. He's also got something interesting to tell us about Itsy Bitsy or whatever."

"Itsy Bitsy?" Liam asks in confusion.

"Epsy Machado," Weevil clarifies with an eye roll, and suddenly he has Liam's attention.

* * *

Cassidy is rudely awakened when a hand comes flying out of nowhere and drops heavily across his face. He groans as he slowly opens his eyes and carefully turns over to see Mac lying on her back, one arm flung across her eyes and the other now on his side as he's moved it away from his face. She moans and looks green for a moment before she springs from the bed and makes a mad waddling dash for the bathroom.

He bites his lip to keep from laughing, because it's funny how she looks when she's running, but he remembers when Dick laughed, and then ended up with another black eye thanks to Mac. A few minutes later she waddles back into the bedroom and plops down on the bed. He sits up and wraps his arms around her, his hands on her stomach as the baby moves inside of her and against his palms, and he smiles and kisses her neck.

She moans again, and says, "I'm never mixing vegetable sushi, wasabi, curry and lime sherbet ice-cream ever again. Oh God! NEVER!"

He can't help the chuckle as he replies, "I tried to stop you, and even Dick told you that combination looked lethal."

He's glad he can't see the glare on her face as the baby gives a particularly strong kick against his palm and Mac winces, as she says, "I have this strange premonition that I'm going to end up being a soccer mom, I mean, she never stops kicking, and ow, those are my kidneys! Let me up I have to pee AGAIN!"

"Didn't you just go?" Cassidy asks incredulously, but he reluctantly lets her go as she does her little waddle dash to the bathroom again.

Cassidy sighs. It's five-thirty am, he could have gotten another thirty minutes sleep before he had to start getting ready for school. It is Wednesday, and then it hits him. February the fourteenth, Valentine's Day. It's been brewing in the back of his mind, but he hasn't really made any plans.

While Mac is still in the bathroom he grabs up his cell phone and gives Dick a call.

There is a growl as the line is picked up. "She better be having the baby, or Dude, someone had better have died! Do you know what fucking time it is?"

Cassidy rolls his eyes. "I need a favor."

"You called for a favor?"

"Yes, dumb ass. I need you to go out and pick up an order at the florists, and get some ice cream; the kind Cindy likes, and get some of that warming massage oil you're always going on about too. Think you can swing by in a few hours with all that?"

"Does this mean you're skipping school?" Dick asks suspiciously.

Cassidy sighs. "Yes, but you aren't staying to hang out. It's Valentine's Day and it's going to be a special day for Cindy. It's getting rough on her and she needs a day for her. So you bring what I ask and then you haul ass. No video games, chick flicks, chocolate ice cream, comments on her weight."

"Dude, I'm never talking weight with a chick ever again, not even that new personal trainer at the gym. It's better for everyone involved to just clam up on weight issues. Gah! Chicks are so freakin touchy with their whores and their moans."

"Hormones, not moaning whores Dick," Cassidy says with a shake of his head.

"Same difference dude, all chicks have the same shit when they're on the rag or pregnant, whores or nuns, they're all bitches when they hop on the female rage, man-hating bandwagon, seriously."

"Yeah," Cassidy says to appease his brother. "Now how about you just do what I ask? See you in a while. Later man."

"Sure, and I'll throw in the donuts for free. She still like those strawberry éclair thingies?"

Cassidy smiles. "Yeah, Dick, she does. Thanks, and pick me up a chocolate one."

"You know it bro. Later."

Cassidy hits the end button and looks up as Mac re-enters their bedroom, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And who was that?"

"Just checking in on Dick to see if he made it home in one piece after that little raver he went to last night with Logan. You know how he likes to party," he replies.

Mac winces. "Please tell me he left the beer hog at home this time."

"Would it be Dick at a party without the hog?"

Mac actually laughs as Cassidy pats a spot next to him on the bed and she sits on the mattress and sighs, her hands tracing over the outline of her stomach, the baby's fluttering movements starting to quiet down now.

"I'll be glad when all of this is over and I can hold her. I mean, it's amazing feeling her inside of me, but when she starts kicking my kidneys like she's scoring a field goal I know I'll be glad to just have her out and leave you with most of the diaper duty while I catch up on the sleep I've missed because I have to pee every five minutes."

Suddenly she yawns and looks at him sleepily. "Hey, it's still early. We can get some more sleep before you have to start getting ready for school."

"And who says I'm going to school today? I'm going to spend Valentine's Day with you, not Pan High's equivalent of Neptune High's dearly beloved Mr. Wu," Cassidy says with a smirk.

She groans, but doesn't protest as she replies, "But I'm supposed to be the positive influence. Dick is the little horned devil part of your conscience that pokes a red pitchfork at your ear and tells you to do stupid things."

Cassidy bursts out laughing as the image of Dick that Mac is conjuring up fills his mind, and soon she's laughing with him, until she freezes and makes another mad waddle toward the bathroom.

* * *

Will sighs as he looks in the mirror and wonders what it would be like to have someone special to spend the day with. Will knows that Cassidy is probably at home spending a nice romantic Valentine's Day with Mac, getting all cuddly and bonding over pickles and ice cream. He rolls his eyes as he's reminded once again why he hates Valentine's Day so much.

Still Mac is a sweet heart, and Cassidy is in love with her. Will's little crush doesn't matter, and Cassidy is a really good friend, although there are times where Will has noticed he'll just zone off, and when he comes back there is a sad, dark look in his eyes, like he's hiding something huge. Will allows him his secrets though, because sometimes secrets are better left as just that, secrets.

He quickly washes his hands as he decides he'll grill Cassidy for all the romantic details tomorrow. He shifts the strap of his book bag further up his shoulder when he's suddenly grabbed and thrown against the tile wall. He must really be zoning out if someone can just sneak up on him like that. At first he suspects it's the usual jock assholes ready to give him a little shake up since it's obvious that Cass isn't at school.

Will's eyes widen as he's facing three guys, one of them is Epsy Machado, with his dark complected skin, dark eyes, and curly dark hair, and the other two are a couple of roughneck gang bangers. The one with the greasy dark hair and black knit cap is Pipes, and the one with the bad acne and the sneer is Roddy.

Will swallows thickly and knows that this will be worse than anything the jocks have ever done to him. He braces himself as a fist lands in his stomach and he doubles over. Soon all three of them are on top of him and he's cowering trying to protect as much of himself as possible. Punches land in his side, and he feels a sharp, burning pain in his arm as a bone snaps, and then that same burning flare of pain in his sides.

He feels a steel toe boot catch him at the small of his back, and his cheek is ripped open as a fist with a ring glides across it brutally. His eyes widen as something rips inside of his chest and he's gasping for breath and feels like he's choking from the inside out, drowning. His lungs and throat are burning and his breaths are harsh and shallow and soon he's coughing up blood, and then his world goes black as he's shoved and kicked against a wall and his head hits the pale green tile harshly.

* * *

Jack Abrams, Pan High's golden boy has got to piss like a freaking racehorse. He finally gets the teacher to acknowledge him and soon he's jogging out of class and toward the nearest bathroom. Once he's inside the urge to piss is gone as his eyes widen and he stares down in shocked horror at the boy huddled in the corner of the bathroom between the sinks and a urinal, broken and covered in blood, barely breathing, and unconscious.

"Oh God," escapes his parted lips as he quickly reaches into his cell phone and dials 911. He tells the operator where he is and then he runs out of the bathroom.

He sees Amy Searling, with mousy brown hair and black-rimmed glasses, a true nerd if ever he saw one. He yells out for her to go get the principal, tells her that someone is hurt real bad in the boy's bathroom and he's already called an ambulance. She runs down the hall to do as he's asked her, and then he goes back into the bathroom, takes off his letterman's jack and puts it over the boy in the corner, because the boy is trembling, shaking badly.

Jack feels bile rise in his throat as he realizes who the boy is. The blood spattered blond hair has green highlights in it. He gets up and rushes into the nearest stall where he empties out the contents of his stomach. He's seen pretty messed up shit out on a game field. He's even picked on Will before, but he would never do anything like this, and he doesn't know anyone else who would do this.

With the way Will looks, it's a wonder the boy is still alive, and suddenly Jack is sick to his stomach with fear, and with disgust at himself for every horrible thing he's ever done to this boy. Because, sure, Will might be different, he might be gay, but no one deserves whatever happened to him. Will looks like he could be dying, and Jack is scared, because he's never seen anyone hurt so bad, and he doesn't want to be the person that watches Will die.

He steps out of the stall as he hears the doors of the bathroom open and Mr. Rutledge enters the bathroom and sees first Will and then him.

"Mr. Abrams, I demand to know what's going on here. What happened, and you called for a paramedic, yes?"

Jack nods. "Yeah, I called for an ambulance. I'm not really sure what happened to Will. I just really had to piss and I walked in and I saw him and then I made the call and they said they were on their way and I saw Amy and sent her to get you. I stayed because… Well no one should be alone when they're that bad off. I haven't moved him or touched him. I mean I put my jacket over him, but he was shaking, like he was cold or something. Who would do this, Mr. Rutledge? Who?" Jack asks with tears in his eyes, and it is then that he notices the moisture between his legs, and with a flush he realizes he's pissed his pants.

Mr. Rutledge, taking sympathy on the boy, looks at him and says, "Go home, get changed, and come back. The sheriff will want to question you. When the ambulance gets here I'll take care of everything. Okay?"

Jack nods, and with one last look at Will he leaves the bathroom, jogs down the hall, across the school parking lot, and as he finally puts the key into the ignition of his dark blue '94 model Ford truck, he closes his eyes for a moment, and sees Will, broken and bloody, in his mind again. He makes a little choked sound before he puts the truck in gear and pulls out of the school parking lot. He'll never be mean or cruel to Will again if Will survives. He swears it. He'll even take up for the guy, because he owes it to him, and if… No. When Will gets better he'll apologize. That will be the first thing on his list when he hears that Will has woken up.

* * *

She sighs and throws her head back as a moan escapes her parted lips, and his slick fingers thread between her toes as he rubs and kneads the tender flesh and muscles of her feet. She lets out a sigh of contentment as he moves on to her other foot, and hums at the simple pleasure that is a good foot rub, especially when she can't even bend down to tie her shoe these days.

"Oh you are the greatest man on the planet. You just don't know how good that feels," she moans, and Cassidy has a goofy grin on his face as he replies, "Wow, Cindy, since when have you had a foot fetish. Wait until I work my way up, and start on your back."

In between another moan she says, "For now, stick with the feet. They haven't felt this good since before I was pregnant, and where on earth did you get that warming massage oil?"

He grins. "Dick brought that over along with a few other things I sent him to get."

"So that was who was at the door this morning? Isn't that a little early for him? And how did you get him to leave?" she asks.

Cassidy chuckles. "I told him to remember that Weevil is on my payroll, and I wanted to spend a nice romantic day with you, without interruptions."

He stops his ministrations to her feet, slowly crawls up her body, places a gentle kiss on her lips and brings his oil slickened hands to her bare belly and presses a kiss against the skin to the left of her belly button. She runs her fingers through his hair, and lets out a sigh.

"You're amazing, you know that," she whispers.

He looks up at her, emotions swimming in his eyes as he lifts himself up and kisses her again, the kiss growing more heated as she responds, and her hands slip up his abdomen and along his chest. He pulls back from her lips, and smiles as she protests, until he presses kisses along her throat, and then he groans as his cell phone rings. Damn Dick to hell.

"Don't answer it," Mac moans in disappointment, but Cassidy can't help himself.

He looks at the number on the phone, and wonders why Will would be calling him. He flips the phone open, and his eyes widened and he freezes as a somewhat familiar voice reaches his ear through the receiver.

"Hey, Cassidy, look man, this is Jack Abrams, and I'm sorry to call you like this, but I thought you should know. Your boy, Will, he… Look I… He's here at the hospital, and he's not doing so well. I thought you should know."

"What happened?" he asks, as he tries to control his breathing, and Mac notices the change in him and puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezes it.

"I don't really know, man," Jack says. "I just really had to piss and I found him all beat up in the bathroom. The doctors say it's a good thing I found him when I did. They said something about going into shock and a punctured lung, and he hasn't woken up once since he was brought in. His parents are on their way, and I figured since you're his friend you might want to know, you know?"

"Yeah," Cassidy manages softly. "Hey, I'm on my way, right now. Are you going to stick around for awhile?"

"Yeah man, I'm not going anywhere. I kind of owe it to him, for all the shit I've pulled. Man I'm so sorry. I mean no one deserves what was done to him. Shit, I thought he was dead when I found him," Jack says and Cassidy is surprised by the hitch in his voice, but he can't drudge up too much sympathy for the jock.

"Hey, save the apology for when he wakes up, I'm not as forgiving as him, and I'm not the one you need to say you're sorry to," Cassidy snaps, and then he flips his phone closed, and lets out his breath in a rush.

"Cass?" Mac asks, her voice soft with concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's Will. He's at the hospital. I… Shit, I just…"

"All right, let's just get dressed real quick and then we'll go, okay?" she replies.

He nods and then they begin to pull on their clothes. He goes into the bathroom to wash up a little before they leave. It isn't long before they are pulling up in the hospital's parking lot. The drive to the hospital is a blur actually.

Soon they find themselves in a waiting room, where they notice an older man and woman, the man has thinning brown hair and bright blue eyes and the woman has blonde hair and soft brown eyes that are bloodshot from crying. Jack Abrams is also in the waiting room. He's tall, and nervous, and prowling around the waiting room, pacing a hole in the floor and running a shaking hand through his dark hair.

Mac takes a seat in one of the chairs, and Cassidy approaches Jack and grabs him squarely by the shoulders, looks him straight in the eye and snaps, "You are going to sit down right now before you make me and my fiancée dizzy. I really don't need her dizzy in her condition, and you aren't helping anyone by constantly pacing. I've been here all of two seconds and you've already gotten on my nerves."

Jack gives a nod and follows Cassidy, who takes a seat next to Mac. Jack sits down in the chair next to Cassidy, and leans forward, his elbows on his knees, and his hands in his hair. He's mostly concentrating on breathing and trying to forget seeing Will all broken and bloody earlier.

It isn't long before the man and woman notice Cassidy and Mac and approach them. The man is the first to speak.

"Hello," he ventures, and then with a sigh asks, "I'm just curious as to how you know my son. I'm assuming you are the one that Jack, here, called."

Cassidy clears his throat and stands, because he wants to appear on the same level as Mr. Harpner. "I'm a friend of his. I'm Cassidy Banks."

"You're Cassidy?" the woman asks, and looks from him to Mac, and her eyes widen. "We had no idea. We thought… It's just with the way he talked about you… He never mentioned that you were…"

Mac picks up on where Mrs. Harpner is going. "Hello, I'm Cindy Mackenzie, and I'm Cassidy's fiancée, and a friend of Will's too. I don't know if he's mentioned me as much as Cass, but he visits us a lot. I'm really sorry about what's happened to him."

Mrs. Harpner is about to say something else when Mr. Harpner takes her hand, gives it a squeeze and says, "You've said enough Dina, please."

"Tom, I just… I want, need to talk. My baby is lying on a gurney hooked up to all kinds of machines and he could be dying. He was drowning in his own blood when they found him, and if talking helps me, then DAMMIT, let me talk," she snaps.

Mac, Cassidy, and Jack wince at her harshly spoken words. Cassidy resumes his seat next to Mac, Dina Harpner pulls up a chair to sit across from them, and Tom rolls his eyes, and sucks in a deep breath before he leaves the waiting room with the intent to find some really strong coffee.

"You have to forgive him," Dina says, her voice less edgy as she looks from Cassidy to Mac and then back to Cassidy. "He's still adjusting to Will's preferences. He only just came out last summer, but a mother usually can tell those things, you know. Things have been a little strained between him and Tom. So when are you expecting?"

Cassidy clears his throat, and Mac takes up the iniative. "I'm due in mid-March."

"And have you decided on a name yet?" Dina asks.

"No, actually. We're still discussing it. My brother has come up with a few suggestions, but after Cindy threatened to strangle him he stopped," Cassidy says with a small chuckle that ends in a strangled sort of sound as he wonders if it's appropriate to laugh in front of his friend's mother, with said friend currently in the limbo of a hospital bed torn between life and death.

Before this awkward charade of a conversation can continue a girl enters the waiting room. She has long blonde hair, and she looks a lot like Will. It looks like she's run straight from her car to this point as she's breathing hard, and her eyes are wide as she crosses the room and drops next to the chair where Dina Harpner is sitting. Her arms wrap around the woman's shoulders as she trembles and in a soft voice asks, "Mom, how is he? I came as soon as I heard. The RA just told me and I think I broke a few traffic laws to get her. He'll be okay, right? Willy, he'll be okay?"

"I don't know sweetie," Dina replies, as she pulls her daughter closer.

A moment later the girl is pulling back from her mother's arms and looking at the three other people in the room. Her eyes widen at the sight of Jack Abrams, she remembers how he always picked on Will, and she's even more surprised by the pregnant girl and the boy with the blue highlights in his hair.

"Oh my God, you must be Cassidy. Will talks about you all the time. I swear he has to be in love with you or something. I can't blame him. You're kind of cute," she says, and then she furrows her brow in confusion at Mac. "I'm not sure who you are though, but a friend of Will's is a friend of mine. Hi, I'm Sarah Harpner."

"Hi," Mac replies awkwardly. "I'm Cindy Mackenzie, I usually go by Mac."

Sarah's mouth falls open. "Oh! You're Veronica's friend. She's in my criminology course. Wow, it's such a small world. So how do you know my brother?"

"He visits us a lot after school and I visit Pan High during lunch sometimes, and bring enough for everyone," Mac replies.

"And why would you do that, and oh my God, that ring is gorgeous!" Sarah says as she notices Mac's hand.

Cassidy drops his arm across Mac's shoulder, and when he notices Mac wince and rub her stomach he quickly puts his hand over hers, and it finally dawns on Sarah.

"Wow, I didn't realize, it's just with the way Will talks about you, I thought… How about you forget I said anything?" she says, and blushes.

A few moments later Dina asks to see Sarah in the hallway and Mac and Cassidy are left alone in the room with Jack Abrams.

"Wow, this is kind of awkward," Cassidy says.

"If it helps, I kind of suspected he liked you, but he values your friendship and he knows that you're with me," Mac replies.

At that comment Jack sighs, and lets out an indiscernible grunt before he leans back and lets his head rest against the wall and tears trail from the corners of his eyes.

"Okay, what's with you? I'm the pregnant one, I should be the one in the truly messed up emotional state," Mac says.

Jack slowly turns to look at them and sighs. "It's just. Look, I was always on his case because… I… If the guys knew…"

Cassidy and Mac's eyes widen as Cassidy says, "So you mean that you… You like Will?"

A strangled sort of laugh escapes Jack's parted lips. "Somethin' like that. And he likes you. That's why I was so hard on your case too, until I realized you had a knocked up girlfriend."

"You're lucky you're crying, because I can get very offended being referred to as knocked up," Mac growls warningly.

Before anyone can say anything a doctor walks into the waiting room, and seeing that they are the only ones in the room, he approaches them. Once he establishes that they are friends of Will's he tells them that he's stable, and currently medicated. A few minutes later Will's parents and sister return to the waiting room and the doctor passes the news onto them. Will's parents are disappointed when the doctor adamantly states that there are to be no visitors until the next evening when they are more certain about his condition.

While the doctor goes over more details of Will's condition with the Harpners, Cassidy asks Jack to look after Mac for a few minutes. He walks out of the hospital and once he's in the parking lot he makes a phone call. Liam Fitzpatrick picks up on the third ring.

"Liam, this is Cassidy. Something's happened to a friend of mine, and it might have to do with the Sharks. Weevil mentioned something to me a week ago about Ellison Machado, and maybe you should look into it, because next time it could be Cindy…"

"No prob, Cass, you just keep those figures working like you do, and it'll be taken care of. Machado, right? You must mean little ol' Epsy."

Cassidy says yes, and then closes his phone at the sound of the click on the other line. He goes back into the hospital and to the waiting room to sit with Mac, Jack, and the Harpners.

* * *

Liam chuckles as he pulls the blade of the knife away from the pock marked Roddy. He wipes the blood off on Roddy's blood and piss stained jeans, as his cousin Danny lands a harsh punch at Pipes, who spits up some blood and a tooth and gives a nod to confirm what Roddy has just told them.

A moment later Liam is punching a number into his phone, and a nasty grin spreads across his face as Weevil picks up on the line.

"Yeah, Weevil," he says and pauses before he rolls his eyes and barks out, "Cut the shit, I got a tip for you. Looks like you were right about Epsy. I got it on good authority that he's at the Shapiro place. He's either gettin' laid by some slut or scoring a hit, I don't know. Pick him up and we'll give his bones a little rattle."

"And what makes you think I want anything to do with that?" Weevil asks.

Liam snorts. "Cassidy is paying you to care. I mean these punks got one of his little friends from school, who knows, maybe the little computer geek is next. So you in? If you ain't let me know so I can send a couple of my guys after him, otherwise you get the honor of bringing him down to the Styx."

Weevil gives a mental groan, not happy with this development. If it were just about the pay he'd say shove the job, but there is Mac to consider, and if they're going after Cassidy's friends, then it's logical to think that Mac is next. With a heavy sigh he says, "Fine, I'm in, but we don't just rough him up, we bury him. I don't care about the consequences, and he ain't gonna look pretty for the funeral."

"Wow, something we can agree on," Liam replies, and then there is a click and Weevil hits the end button on his cell phone before he tosses it to the floorboard of his car and heads toward the Shapiro place. He's got some trash to deliver.

* * *

"Looks like we have our distraction, Bone Daddy," Tony says with a grin, and Bones knows it's big, because Tony only calls him Bone Daddy on special occasions.

"So what's the job?" Bones asks.

Tony chuckles. "This is personal. Epsy took care of one of Casey's little buddies. Put the kid in the hospital in ICU, and sounds like the kid will be there for a while. This could give us an opportunity to snatch Casey's little girlfriend."

"But isn't she knocked up?" Bones asks in confusion.

"That makes her all the more valuable," Tony replies.

Bones takes in a breath, and doesn't like the sound of kidnapping a pregnant girl, because pregnant women are difficult in the best of situations, a kidnapped pregnant woman is asking for trouble. "So when do we leave boss?"

Tony smiles, that cold, predatory smile of his. "Tonight, Bones. We're heading to Neptune tonight. The sooner we leave the sooner our opportunity arrives."

* * *

Please review.


	14. FOURTEEN

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and any recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Fourteen:

"Don't they like ever serve real food in these places?" Dick says with a groan, as he looks at what the signs says is beef stew. It looks more like sewage. "The cafeteria food at Neptune High looked better than this."

Mac rolls her eyes. "Dick it's a hospital. Get over it. The vegetables are real, why not go for a salad, or are you really so hell bent on clogging your arteries?"

"Meat is a staple of the food pyramid, I-tunes! And I'm a growing boy," he replies and sticks his tongue out at her.

Again she rolls her eyes. "And could you please remind me why you are even here? I mean I know you play video games with Will sometimes, but do you really consider him a friend?"

Dick plays the hurt look like a trump card. "Of course he's my friend. And, dude! Have you checked out his sister? Sarah is like totally hawt! And this time with all the sympathy I'm feeling for jock itch, and those chick flicks you made me suffer through, I totally have a shot at getting my groove awn!"

"Just don't hurt yourself," Mac replies with a small smile.

Of course he does end up settling for a salad, simply because it appears to be the one edible thing in the entire hospital cafeteria. He loads it down with lots of diced ham, egg bits and ranch dressing though. Mac suppresses a laugh before her vision goes hazy and she stumbles a little. He puts his tray down and goes to catch her. She lands against his chest, and looks up at him, her cheeks a rosy hue.

"Hey, Mac, if you need to sit down, just say so. Or if you just like falling against me… Well, can't say I mind too much, but think we can keep these little moments to ourselves? Cause I don't think Cass would understand, and I'd hate to have to kick his ass or anything," Dick says softly with a small grin as he helps her get steady on her feet again.

She swats at him half-heartedly, and soon there is someone else helping them. A tall, leggy redhead in a nurse's uniform, and Mac is being led to a chair out in the dining area. Dick goes back for their salads and some water as per the nurse's instructions, and then Mac feels something prick her arm and the world goes fuzzy and dark all over again.

It doesn't take long for Dick to get the water and the salads, however it takes long enough. He goes out into the dining area and looks at the table where he'd just left Mac and the nurse. There is a sinking feeling in his gut, and he just knows that something isn't right. He tosses the food into the nearest trashcan and heads to a nurse's station to ask about the leggy redhead and a pregnant girl with two green streaks in her hair.

He's pointed in the direction of the main doors of the hospital. He runs down the hall, not caring if it's against the rules. He steps out of the double doors and his breath catches in his throat as he sees an unconscious Mac hauled into the back of a black van. One of her shoes falls off and he runs toward the van, but the doors are pulled shut and the van is peeling out of the parking lot. He looks at where the license plate should be, but finds that there isn't one, and how many black vans are out in the Neptune area alone?

He's fucked up big time and he knows it. He bends down and picks up the black sneaker, and brushes the grit off it. She was wearing the Sketchers he'd gotten for her when she had complained that the boots she usually wore were pinching her toes. He closes his eyes, the fear and worry knotting in his stomach growing worse as he realizes that not only has he lost Mac, but now he has to face his little brother and tell him.

* * *

Dick takes a deep breath and braces himself as he steps off of the elevator. His first stop is to check in the waiting room, but Cassidy isn't there. His next stop is room 319. He gives the closed door a knock, and once he hears the all clear he opens the door and sticks his head in. He can barely breathe at the sight of his brother sitting down in the chair next to Will's bed talking about History class, and how maybe Jack Abrams is crushing on him.

"You know the full back, Adam Teneger came up to Jack today and was giving him a hard time about visiting you so much, and Jack got two weeks worth of detention for breaking Adam's nose. It was awesome. Rutledge let Jack off the hook when he realized that Jack was defending you, which gives ol' Rut some cool points," Cassidy says.

Will winces as he shifts in the bed, but there is a small smile on his face as he asks, "So Jack Abrams, our school's quarterback has a thing for me? Me, the school queer. You've got to be making this up."

Cassidy looks up and sees Dick standing in the doorway, and upon noticing that Dick is alone asks, "Hey, Dick, where's Cindy? Did she have to go to the bathroom again?"

Dick staggers into the room, and takes a seat in the chair on the other side of Will's bed, and he looks across at Cassidy, and Will feels the anxiety crashing off of Dick in waves, and he does not want to be the one in the middle of this, literally or figuratively.

"Hey, guys, look, the nurse is about to come in here for my bath, so think you can head out a little early tonight? It's that really old, fugly woman, and I've got to brace myself for her wielding a sponge. Why couldn't it have been that hot guy nurse on duty tonight," he says trying to lighten the mood. "It's a shame he's married."

Dick is the first to stand, and he feels Cassidy's eyes on him as he quickly steps out of the room. Cassidy tells Will good night and then he's out in the hall and narrowing his eyes on his older brother. "Okay, now tell me what's going on. Where's Cindy?"

Dick swallows thickly, and closes his eyes, before his words come out in this choked whisper, "Dude, she had a fainting spell. I didn't think anything of the nurse coming to help. I set her down in a chair in the cafeteria and I left for like a second to get some water. When I came back she was gone. I ran to the nearest nurses' station, and then I ran out of the door and she was being pulled into this van, and it took off. This is all I have."

He holds up the shoe, and Cassidy looks as though he's just been punched in the face. He bends over double trying to catch his breath, as it strikes him that Mac is gone, and she's in trouble and the baby is due in three weeks.

A cold chill worms up his spine and slowly he straightens up, before he has Dick shoved against a wall, his arm at Dick's throat, and his eyes are burning with anger and pain, and Dick is shocked because he has never seen his brother like this.

"You can't do one single fucking thing right, can you Dick? Have you not gotten the memo that someone is after me! Why the fuck do you think Will was attacked? Why the hell do you think I have Weevil tailing you and Cindy most of the time? Why do you think I'm actually calling up the Fitzpatricks at regular intervals? Does it just strike you, now that Cindy is GONE, that we are in some serious fucking danger! I can't fucking believe you! The mother of my child is God only knows where because of you!" Cassidy snarls and increases the pressure against Dick's throat, and Dick is struggling to breathe past Cassidy's firm hold on his throat, and he wonders where all of this strength is coming from, because he used to kick Cassidy's ass all the time.

Dick is growing lightheaded when someone starts pulling Cassidy off of him. He slumps to the floor and sucks in several huge gulps of air. Dick gives his head a shake and looks up, his eyes wide with surprise as he realizes that Weevil is holding Cassidy back.

"So, do we need to go over the importance of sharing again, boys? I thought you had the hang of that by now. And where's Mac, usually she's the peace keeper, or two waddles away from kicking Dick's ass these days," Weevil says.

Weevil is surprised when Cassidy stops struggling and slumps back against him before this horrible sound escapes his mouth, and Weevil lets him go and Cassidy sinks to his knees, clutching a single shoe to his chest as he rocks slowly back and forth, the sound of his grief inescapable.

After a few minutes Dick is on his feet, and helping Cassidy up, and Weevil is suddenly taking charge. They leave the hospital, and Dick gets Cassidy's keys and tosses them to Weevil. Soon they're in Cassidy's KIA Sportage and on their way to the River Styx, to get Liam and his boys in on this, because, if what Dick is telling him about Mac being missing is true, then they'll need all the help they can get, even if that means working with the Fitzpatricks again. Weevil will do it for Mac.

On the drive over Weevil makes a couple of phone calls. The first is to Veronica, and she is surprised to hear that he's asking to meet her at the River Styx, but she says she'll be there. The second call is to Kendall, who is already on route to meet Liam any way. Weevil hangs up his phone and looks in the backseat for a moment. His blood runs cold as Cassidy just sits there, not moving or flinching, barely breathing. It's like he's made out of stone. He spares a glance at Dick, who's all twitching and fidgeting, and he wonders how the two can be brothers because they are such complete opposites.

* * *

A low moan escapes her throat as consciousness starts to slowly seep into her brain. Her eyes flutter open for a moment and she winces against the harsh light in the room, as her eyes slowly grow accustomed to it. She shifts her head and gets a good look at the room, it's simple with sand colored walls, dingy thread bare carpet, a lumpy couch, and a scratched up coffee table, and a television that looks like it should be featured in a retro seventies themed show.

She tries to move her arms, because her shoulders ache and she really wants to stretch, but her wrists are bound behind her back, and she realizes that she is tied in a stiff wooden chair that is doing nothing for her already aching back, and she really, really has to pee.

She squirms, but soon discovers that her ankles are tied to the chair legs, and she can't cross her legs, and her bladder is burning with her need to go. She decides to give into the cranky side of being pregnant, especially when the baby gives a sound kick to her kidneys.

"Hello, will someone untie me and take me to the bathroom now! I swear if I pee on myself you will have to gag me to shut me up!" she snaps threateningly.

"I'm tempted to gag you now," says a big brawny man with a shaved head and a scar that crawls from the corner of his mouth and across his face.

Mac swallows thickly at the sight of him, and then another man enters the room, this man has curly dark hair, and a scar running over his right eye, and his good eye is a chilling dark blue. Still, she steels her resolve as the baby lands another impressive kick to her kidneys and her bladder.

"Look, I'm really uncomfortable and I have to pee. I won't struggle or try to escape, just take me to the freaking bathroom!"

The one with the bad eye gives her a shark-like grin, and looks at the brawny bad ass Mr. Clean looking guy and says, "You heard the little mother, Bones, cut her loose and take her to the bathroom. Careful with her though. She's valuable. The more banged up she is the less worth she has, so try to reign in that temper."

Mac gulps as Bones flicks open a butterfly blade and carefully cuts her wrists and ankles free. She rubs her wrists to get the circulation going back in her hands, while Bones looms over her and directs her to the bathroom. She slips into the bathroom, and makes a face. It's disgusting, the toilet is rusty and moldy, and the smell is terrible.

She wipes the toilet seat down, then covers it with toilet paper, does her business, and washes her hands. When she steps out of the bathroom she takes a breath of slightly fresher air, and hopes she really doesn't have to pee again for a long time.

He leads her back into the room where she's been kept for she doesn't even want to know how long. She looks at the stiff chair that she just vacated with contempt and then toward the lumpy couch.

With a deep breath she decides to try her luck. "Do you think you could at least tie me up in a more comfortable chair and maybe not tie the ropes so tight? What do you think I'm going to do? Do you realize how pregnant I am? I don't see myself managing a MacGuyver escape."

"All right, Mommy, we'll let you lie down on the couch, but no funny stuff, otherwise Bones will have to tie you up again. Got the drill?"

Bones looks at the man with the badly scarred eye. "Tony, man, I think we should just tie her back up. I mean this is a big chance we're taking."

"And she makes a point. I don't see her fitting through a window with that belly, and I think we could take her if she tried to make a run for it," Tony says in exasperation. "For the most part she seems like a smart girl, I doubt she'll run with the baby in the mix. Isn't that right sweetheart?"

Mac shivers at the implication. She gives a nod, and decides she'll go along with what they say for now for the sake of the baby. If she knows Cassidy he'll be working on some way to get her back. He's probably calling in the troops right now, maybe even Veronica, because Veronica is good at handling things like this.

She takes a seat on the couch and settles in, lying on her back to look up at the moldy, water spotted ceiling. The couch isn't the comfiest in the world, but it's far better than the chair they'd had her tied up in. The baby shifts and moves and she gently rubs her hand across her belly to sooth the child within, and she smiles as the baby begins to settle, and then she whispers, "Hey, don't worry. Daddy is coming. He'll save us, you wait and see. And then when we get out of this Mommy will yell at Uncle Dick for leaving her at the mercy of a leggy redhead, yes she will."

Tony watches as she rubs her belly and talks to the baby. He shakes his head, not getting women, as he punches in a text message on Mac's phone, hits the first button on speed dial and waits for a reply.

* * *

Veronica gets out of the yellow monstrosity that is Logan's X-terra, and rolls her eyes again as he looks at the bar in disgust and asks, "So tell me what we're doing here exactly?"

"Something's happened to Mac and Weevil called me and told me to meet him here. So we are here," Veronica replies, and she braces herself as she notices Cassidy's KIA in the parking lot, and Kendall's silver BMW.

"Wait, Weevil is at Fighting Fitzpatrick headquarters?" Logan replies in disbelief.

"Believe it Echolls," Weevil says as he pushes himself off of the wall and comes out to meet them. "Yo, V, glad you came, this shit's gettin' heavy. According to Dick, Mac had a little fainting spell. He left her with some leggy redhead nurse to go get some water and when he came back she was gone. He went running to the parking lot and saw them stuffing Mac into the back of a van. All he got was her right shoe. He says the van didn't have any plates. I'm surprised surfer boy even had the mental capacity to look. He's takin' it almost as bad as Cassidy."

As they walk into the bar, the first thing they notice is that it's quiet and deserted. There are no patrons to speak of and a small group is gathered in the corner around Liam who looks like he's holding court.

Cassidy is sitting at the table, with his chair pulled back so that he's there, but not a part of the group. Dick is nursing a beer, and Kendall is whispering something to Liam, who is nodding back. Finally Liam looks up with smirk.

"Well, well, Blondie returns to the slums and with her gun toting little man, welcome," he says with a wide spread of his hands.

Cassidy suddenly looks up and his eyes lock on Veronica, and then he gets up and he stops as Logan puts his arm around Veronica's shoulder and glares at him. Cassidy takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Are you going to help me get her back?"

"I'm here right? And let's get this straight. This is about Mac. If you do anything that puts her in danger, I don't give a damn, I'll expose you for the little rat you are, because she wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you," Veronica says, and her voice is cold.

Dick gets up and stands behind his brother, his beer forgotten. "It's not his fault. I was the one that left her alone long enough to get taken. Look, this isn't a pissing contest. Let's just do whatever we have to do to get her back, okay?"

Before anyone can answer a loud ring tone cuts into the heavy atmosphere. Cassidy snatches his phone out of his pocket. His eyes widen at the number on display, and he flips the phone open to the message waiting for him. His heart sinks as he reads it.

"Got ur girl. Want her back? U pay in blood."

He hits the speed dial for Mac's phone, and after a couple of rings someone answers, "Thought that might get your attention Casey."

"Where is she? I want to talk to her now," Cassidy replies.

There is a snort on the line. "Your little girlfriend is fine. She just had a little bathroom break and she's napping on the couch. Now here's the deal. We do a trade, you for the girl. It's just you, and maybe that idiot blonde boy you hang out with now, to take the girl, but no one else. She's fine for now. Don't keep us waitin' long though, you know how impatient Bones can get."

Before Cassidy can say anything else the line goes dead and his phone slips from his hand. He closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths, feeling the stares of everyone present on him.

"Here's the deal, they want an even trade, me for Cindy. Fine, I can do that, but I want someone there to make sure that she gets out of this. They can have me, I don't give a damn, but she gets out of this in one piece," he says, and after a moment he continues, "I have to call him back soon with plans for the exchange. He said something about Bones getting impatient."

Danny Boyd lets out a long whistle. "Shit, Richie, you got in deep. Bones Carver, wow. That means you're dealing with the big chops. I bet Tony Rawley is behind this. What you do to piss him off?"

"Look, story time isn't important here. Right now we have my pregnant friend caught in the middle of something pretty bad. I've checked the records on Tony Rawley and Timothy "Bones" Carver, and it's not a fairytale sort of read, so lets get down to discussing how we can get Mac back," Veronica cuts in, taking command.

Cassidy looks up and meets her eyes, knowing that she's probably his best bet. Liam, Weevil, and Danny are the muscle, Kendall has brains, but Veronica already has an idea forming in that non-stop head of hers. "What are you thinking, Veronica?" he asks.

She smiles at him. "Well, if you still know your way around making bombs we might be able to take them by surprise. I'm not thinking anything too big, a simple pipe bomb from the Anarchist's Cookbook will work as long as it's triggered by a phone call. And we should try to get this deal to go down in a place we know. How about where this all began, the rooftop of the Neptune Grand? Think about it, we can all hide out in Logan's suite, it's a good place for this."

Kendall nods and cuts in, "Blondie has a point. We wait in Logan's little suite for the phone call and then the Calvary will come up and save your little ass and the mother to be. The bomb could be a distraction if things get messy before the Calvary arrives. You just watch your ass up there, because we aren't giving you up."

"Gee, it's starting to sound like you care," Cassidy bites out.

Kendall snorts and gives her head a toss. "Please, you're still bringing in the dollar signs. That makes your pathetic little life worth something, and hello, I helped her pick out the curtains and carpet for the nursery. You might as well have a kid to puke on the carpet and tear at the curtains right?"

"Sounds like someone is getting sentimental," Logan says, and Kendall and Veronica give him twin glares of doom.

Soon they all gather around the table in the corner and work out the fine print of a plan to take Tony Rawley and Bones Carver by surprise. Cassidy just has to sell them on the idea of the trade going down on the rooftop of the Neptune Grand. He hopes it won't be a hard sell, but he's not going to take no for an answer.

* * *

Tony smiles as Mac's phone rings. He pushes a button and presses it to his ear.

"Goin' all swanky on me, eh Casey? The Neptune Grand. Nice. I can swing that, on the rooftop, but no one else on the roof but you, or I can't make promises about your girlfriend's health, and man, let me just say that ring on her finger. Pretty pricey. Seems like you hit the lottery my friend."

A minute or so later he hangs up the phone and looks at Bones. "Looks like we're set. Tomorrow night at eleven o'clock we go to the Neptune Grand, say we're guests of Logan Echolls and then we head up to the roof. He'll be waiting for us there. If he's not alone we get to have some fun with the little mother."

"On a rooftop?" Bones asks, skeptical.

Tony shrugs. "It's kind of poetic. It's where that kid that blew up the plane and that school bus swan dived last year. If we play our cards right maybe Casey will make the same dive."

"And what about the little woman when we're done with him? She could identify us at the scene."

"Not if we toss her off first. We'll make it look like a murder-suicide. You know she's the chick that dated that kid that dove? Yeah, thought I recognized her. Her picture was on the front page. I did some checking around, had Mousy look into some records, and it's her. And Casey's mom was the kid's step mom. His name was Cassidy Casablancas. Gotta hand it to the kid, sixteen and blowin' up buses and planes. He had a future in our kind of business. It's a shame Casey didn't have that crazy rich kid's potential, we could have used that kind of crazy, but if he fucks us over once he'll do it again, best to get it over and done with, right?"

Bones just nods, although he has an uneasy feeling in his gut as he gets a bottle of water out of the fridge to bring to the pregnant girl lying down on the lumpy couch out in the small living room of the ramshackle apartment they're holed up in. Is it guilt or foreboding? He isn't the dwelling type, so he just shrugs away the feeling and decides to do what he's always done and go along with Tony, because Tony's never done him wrong before.

* * *

Please review!


	15. FIFTEEN

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Fifteen:

His hand trembles as he opens the door to the roof. He takes in a deep breath as he steps out and the sun is setting in the distance. Liam Fitzpatrick, Weevil, Kendall, and Veronica follow him out. Cassidy walks along the roof, looking around it, and he remembers things about that night. He flinches when he looks at the spot where he had Veronica curled up and in pain while he turned her own taser against her.

He looks up and notices that Veronica is shivering and her eyes are on the same spot. She looks up and when their gazes lock they both turn as one and look toward the neon sign of the hotel, or more specifically at the ledge there, the ledge where Cassidy had stood and taken that final step. Only it hadn't been to his death, it had been to the window of the suite below, Aaron's suite.

They are shaken from their reverie as Liam calls out and asks where he should leave the bag. Cassidy points to a spot near one of the huge air vents, so that it's out of sight. Liam nods and drops the bag behind the vent.

A moment later Cassidy finds himself standing at the ledge where he stood on Graduation night. His knuckles are white from his grip on the concrete ledge as he looks down at the parking lot below. He takes in a deep breath, and blinks, tears sliding from the corners of his eyes. He will gladly take that leap if it would mean that Mac and the baby are safe and sound.

He closes his eyes and he prays that it doesn't come to that with Mac. He will take that step, this time for real, if it will spare her and their baby. He will take that step and every step in between.

* * *

Sitting demurely on the couch, Kendall smirks and shifts her gaze to where Logan and Veronica are sitting on a plush chair together, with Blondie looking at her cell phone every five seconds and she decides to spice up the conversation. "Hmmm… This suite, there are some good memories here," she says as she looks down at her perfectly manicured nails and smiles slyly at Veronica's snort. "It's a shame we never used this couch for anything. I mean it's just so comfy, not like that lumpy excuse that Big Dick would never let me replace."

Logan's arms tighten around Veronica, and Weevil and Liam look at Kendall, Danny is as oblivious as ever.

"So, Miss Priss, you got it on with a high school boy, that's kinda hot, baby. Think maybe later…" Liam says suggestively.

Kendall snorts. "Please, you hardly qualify. All your stamina goes toward violence and you wouldn't have half of the money you have without me. Try that line on someone in your league."

"Children, please get over yourselves," Weevil says and takes a seat on the floor as he rolls his eyes and wonders how he ended up in a room with Veronica, Logan, Kendall, Liam Fitzpatrick and Danny Boyd. This has got to be some crazy pipe dream.

Before another word can be said, the room phone rings and Veronica and Logan jump, as Logan swipes up the phone, gives a nod, and says, "Yeah, they're with me. Send 'em up."

"Looks like it's getting close to show time," Kendall replies, and Weevil notices as she wrings her hands for a moment, like she's nervous or something. It's weird, because he never would have expected her to be nervous. He looks at the clock on the VCR and realizes that it's ten minutes until eleven.

* * *

He's been pacing the length of the roof for the last hour, every now and then shifting his gaze to the neon sign right next to the ledge he'd been on nearly a year ago. He swallows thickly and continues his pacing. He glances nervously down at his watch. Five more minutes. This has been the longest hour of his life. His ears perk up at the sound of the hinges on the door to the roof squeaking, and then she's there, and two thugs are pushing her out ahead of them.

He starts to walk toward them, "Cindy, oh God, are you okay?"

He stops when the finely muscled, lean one with the dark hair and a bad eye draws her back against him and holds a knife to her throat. She whimpers, and Cassidy has to remind himself to breathe. It's as he starts breathing again that he notices the nine-millimeter in the large, brawny man's hands. The large man holds the gun on him, and the two men and Mac walk a little further out onto the roof, they're looking around, making sure no one is up there with them.

Mac swallows against the weight of the knife, her eyes closing reflectively, as she says, "I'm so sorry Cassidy."

"Cassidy?" says the man with the knife. "Who's this Cassidy? All I see is a little punk named Casey Banks. So you got a nose job and done something with your hair. It doesn't take much when your mommy's married to one of the elite. Not all of us are so lucky, Casey."

"Hey, if it's money you want fine, I can get cash or whatever, just, please let her go. She has nothing to do with this," he pleads.

The man with the shaved head and the gun snorts. "You hear that Tony. Tough as shit Casey begging for someone's life other than his own."

"Yeah, Bones, you make a point," Tony says, and then he looks around the roof one more time, because something is striking him as familiar. "And what's with the location. The seclusion I like, but why this roof?"

Tears are slipping down Mac's face at this point as it dawns on her that this is the place where Cassidy jumped on Graduation night, only he'd been pulled in through a window by his stepmother and another body had been tossed down the rest of the way.

"Cass, please, tell me you aren't thinking about…" before she can finish Tony pulls her tighter against him. "You would do best if you kept your fucking mouth shut."

"Well, if she's not allowed to talk, then how about me? A little story time never hurt anyone, but just pull the knife back a little bit, okay?" Cassidy says and both his hands are in his hair, as he struggles to keep his composure.

"So you think I'm just some little street thug that fucked you over in L.A. right? That's the gist of the story. What if I'm not? What if my real name is Cassidy Casablancas? You know it's funny, my brother and his buddies used to call me Beaver, you know to mess with my head. It took a couple of well placed bombs and a nice little swan dive to change their minds, to make them see that I was a person worth respecting. It was kind of easy too. Just push a little button and boom, no more bus. Eight kids, a journalism teacher, and a driver right over a cliff. Someone knew my secret though, so I ran him down and what do you know, right over a cliff. Everything was pretty smooth sailing after that, but good old Woody, he was a sly one. I heard about his little plane though. So I bided my time, knowing he'd run sooner or later with Keith Mars on the case, and what do you know, on graduation night his plane lit up like a firecracker, boom, bye-bye Mr. Goodwood," Cassidy says, and there is an insane bite and laughter bubbling up in his voice, and the two thugs are a little thrown by this, because maybe this kid isn't Casey, and the pregnant girl in Tony's arms is sobbing outright.

"You know, I feel terrible about the bus. I just wanted everything to stay a secret. I didn't want people knowing how fucked up I was because my little league coach thought he'd play a little one on one touch and go, but they didn't deserve to die. None of those people had ever really done anything to hurt anyone, and one press of a button and they were never given a chance. Sometimes I still wake up to their screams. Good old Curly Moran, he didn't have it coming either, but again he knew a secret. I feel a little guilty about him too. Now Woody, the little mayor of Neptune, Mr. Goodman, he's another story, he's burning in hell. Send him my regards when you meet him there, okay?" Cassidy says, and then he slips his hand in his pocket, and this is enough to lure Bones forward.

"My name is Cassidy!" he shouts as Bones finally moves into range.

Cassidy hits the speed dial, and then presses send on the phone in his pocket. A moment later the roof rocks with a solid explosion. Bones has been blown off the roof and Mac, Tony, and Cassidy have been knocked down from the force of the explosion.

Mac quickly rolls away from Tony before he can grab her and get leverage. Cassidy scrambles to his feet and makes his way toward Mac as he pushes another button on his speed dial and send, although he thinks the explosion will get the point across that he needs a little help about now.

"Are you okay?" Cassidy asks as he wraps his arms around her, and his hand rubs her swollen belly. "Both of you?"

She nods past her tears and clings to him, hiccupping now as she struggles to reign in her sobs. He watches as her eyes widen and her body trembles in fear. Cassidy turns around and sees Tony, gun in hand, the gun is pointed at Mac. He moves so that he's in front of her. If anyone has to die tonight, it's going to be him, not her.

His heart stills and she's screaming behind him as a gunshot fills the air.

* * *

The explosion rocks the building, and Veronica is on her feet in a minute. The bomb going off means there is trouble. A moment later her phone is ringing. She doesn't even look down at the ID to see Cassidy's number.

Liam, Danny, and Weevil are the first to the door. Liam is checking his gun, making sure it's ready for action. They run for the stairwell, with Veronica, Logan, and Kendall taking up the rear. Liam kicks the door and it bangs on the wall of the opening and he's the first through. He scans the rooftop, and he sees Tony Rawley with a gun trained on his cash crop and the knocked up girl, Mac or whatever they called her.

He doesn't hesitate as he takes aim, squeezes the trigger, and his arm doesn't sway or jump, because he knows the kick of a gun. It's a very familiar feeling to him. Danny and Weevil come up behind him, and Weevil gives a low whistle as he looks around the roof noticing the damage, and then Danny asks the obvious question.

"So where's Bones, cause Tony don't go nowhere without his backup?"

Cassidy lets out a hysterical laugh as he replies, "I blew him off the roof with the pipe bomb."

"That's one way to blow a fish out of water," Weevil says with a shrug.

And then an earsplitting scream erupts from Mac, and Cassidy pulls her against him, and brushes her sweat soaked hair back from her face. She's breathing hard, and her hands are anxiously running over her stomach.

"So is she pissing herself?" Danny asks, and Veronica shoves him aside as she tries to see what's going on with her friend.

"No you dumb ass! My water just broke! I've been having cramps all day, I didn't realize they were contractions!" Mac growls and then her hand is fisting into Cassidy's shirt, and she's glaring at him, "AND WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE ME SOME KIND OF WARNING THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BLOW UP THE ROOF!"

Liam, Danny, and Logan take a step back, because they aren't really sure about what to do as far as the pregnant girl who's gone into labor is concerned. Guns, violence, fighting, snark, that is more their forte. Weevil draws close to them, looks at Mac and says, "Hey think you can manage to walk a little? Walking helps."

"I think…" she groans, and whimpers, as another contraction hits her and everything inside of her is screaming to push against it.

"Okay, too far gone. The cops are on the way because of the explosion, so has anyone had the foresight to call for an ambulance yet?" Weevil asks.

Kendall pipes up, "Well, it would seem that I'm the only with operative brains at the moment. They're on the way."

Veronica is just quiet, unsure of what to do. She's staring around at the mess that is the roof, at the body of Tony Rawley, and at Mac, panting and writhing in pain, with Cassidy holding her and trying to calm her. This is all just beyond her capability to take in right now, and that doesn't seem right, because she's always been take charge. She always knows what to do, only this time she doesn't, and she hates feeling useless.

* * *

Kendall raises an eyebrow as Weevil hands her a double mocha latte recently purchased from Java the Hut. She actually does a double take as she looks at the slightly balding man, the blonde woman, and the young, annoying little blonde boy.

"You're the computer geek's family? My God, no wonder she was so eager to move in with him," Kendall says.

"And you would be?" Samuel Mackenzie grinds out in Kendall's direction, and she's impressed with the show of hostility.

"I'm Kendall Casablancas," she replies, because it should be obvious.

"Wait, that boy that Mac is seeing," Samuel says, "The one that looks like the one she used to date."

"He's my son," Kendall bites out impatiently, taking a sip of her steaming coffee, and then she looks down at her nails.

"You're actually a mother," Natalie says before she can stop herself, and then Ryan says, "You're way to hot and young to be a mom, especially to someone as old as my sister's boyfriend."

Kendall snorts. "Thanks for that junior, but I started young."

A few minutes later Veronica, Logan and Dick walk into the waiting room, and Dick says, "So Dude, is the bun out of the oven yet? I mean it's kind of early."

Kendall rolls her eyes, and Veronica smacks him in the arm. He rubs his smarting bicep and says, "What? I want to see my brother's kid. And hey, where is the little shit, I owe him a huge apology and a big congrats."

"You mean stepbrother, don't you?" Samuel asks suspiciously, as it begins to dawn on him.

Dick tones down his smile and gives a nod, "Yeah, sure, so where is Cass?"

"He's in the delivery room with Mac," Kendall bites out.

"Oh, did he bring the camera like I told him to?" Dick asks eagerly.

Mac's parents look at him in shock, their mouths hanging open, Ryan is laughing, Logan is grinning, Veronica has her face in her hands, and Weevil is shaking his head at the fact that Dick really doesn't have a clue.

"Okay, surfer boy, let me explain something to you. We just got here after the roof of the Neptune Grand blew up while some of us were on top of it and the rest of us were below it. We didn't have time to swing by and get the camera because Mac was going into labor," Weevil says very slowly.

"Dude, how can a chick having a baby work?" Dick asks.

Weevil rolls his eyes and looks toward the ceiling for guidance before he just sits back in a chair and waits along with everyone else.

* * *

Cassidy winces at the pressure on his hand as Mac gives one last push, but he's careful about not saying anything, because out of everyone in the room he's received the most death threats in the last eight hours. And he's still shuddering at the thought of the last threat, which included a certain bit of his anatomy in a specimen jar.

Cassidy bends down and presses his lips to Mac's as he pushes the sweaty strands of her hair back from her face, and in his mind she's never looked more beautiful than in that moment, and then he turns at the sound of a healthy squalling cry and he's smiling as the doctor holds up the baby, who is the most beautiful thing Cassidy has ever laid eyes on, despite her needing to be cleaned.

He turns back to Mac and sees her smiling softly. He kisses her again and says, "Look at what we did. She's perfect. I love you so much, and she's amazing."

"I love you, too," she whispers and then her eyes drift shut, and suddenly the heart monitor that is hooked up to her starts slowing down.

Dr. Evenson looks ups, hands the baby off to a nurse and says, "Mr. Banks, I'm sorry, but you need to leave now."

Cassidy looks worriedly down at Mac, and then three men dressed in scrubs are pulling him out of the room as Dr. Evenson tells a nurse to call a code blue. Cassidy swallows thickly, and takes a deep breath. Mac is strong, whatever it is, she'll be fine. He then decides to do something worthwhile.

It doesn't take him long to find the nursery. He waits patiently, looking in the window at all of the babies, and then he sees the nurse putting her into an incubator marked Banks/Mackenzie baby. His fingers lightly stroke the glass, and he gives the door a knock.

A small, petite blonde comes to the door. He looks at her nametag and it reads, M. Chounette. She tells him to call her Marie.

Soon he's sitting in a rocking chair in his scrubs and Nurse Marie is bringing him the baby, showing him how to hold her, and then how to feed her, and she's impressed that he takes to it so naturally, as most first time fathers are a little scared to take on a baby.

Nurse Marie is surprised to see tears trailing the young father's face as he holds the baby, carefully feeding her, and whispering gently to her. It's a heartwarming sight, certainly not something one would expect from someone so young.

* * *

It's a wonder that no one has killed Dick or Ryan in the waiting room. Weevil left shortly after Dick started drumming against the back of a chair and Ryan followed his example. Kendall is sitting with her legs crossed, reading last week's Cosmo, and Mac's parents are having a quiet discussion with Logan and Veronica.

Everyone looks up and Dick and Ryan stop their drumming when a tall woman with long red hair and bright green eyes enters the room. She looks around the room at everyone who is staring at her expectantly (and in Dick and Ryan's case wantonly), and braces herself.

With a smile she says, "The baby is all cleaned up and perfectly healthy. In fact she's in the nursery, and I think her father is in there right now, feeding her as we speak," and it is there that she pauses abruptly, as everyone looks at her, expecting more.

"What about Cindy? What about my daughter?" Natalie Mackenzie asks.

And this is the part of the job that Dr. Jillian Evenson hates. She clears her throat and continues, "There were complications following the delivery. We believe that it may have resulted from recent trauma, and perhaps delayed shock. There was internal hemorrhaging, and she passed. We did everything medically possible. Mrs. Mackenzie, Mr. Mackenzie I'm sorry."

"Wait," Dick says and stands up, facing the woman. "You mean Mac is just gone? Have you told my brother? Does Cassidy know yet?"

"No, Mr. Casablancas, I haven't informed Cassidy yet," she replies, her voice suddenly stiff and formal.

Dick takes in a deep breath and looks toward the ceiling for a moment as Natalie Mackenzie sobs into the shoulder of her husband, and Veronica's short cries are muffled against Logan's chest. Dick returns his gaze to the doctor and says, "You shouldn't be the one to tell him. Take me to him, I'll do it."

Dr. Evenson lets out a short breath of relief and nods at the young blonde man. "Very well, Mr. Casablancas. He's in the nursery like I said earlier, feeding the baby. You can all go there to see the baby if you'd like through the window, though only the father, and grandparents are allowed in, two at a time."

As they follow Dr. Evenson out of the waiting room and down the hall, Veronica takes out her cell phone and sends a text message to Weevil. She's surprised when they reach the nursery and Weevil is already there, looking through the window, and her eyes widen as she follows his gaze and sees Cassidy, holding a small pink bundle in his arms. He's feeding the baby, and then the nurse, a petite little blonde thing, even shorter than Veronica, bends down and says something to Cassidy, and helps him to burp the baby.

She is amazed that he's so gentle and seems content holding and handling the baby. She never would have expected it. She looks up and sees Mac's parents, Logan, and Dick with similar expressions of surprise on their faces.

The nurse looks up and upon receiving a nod from Dr. Evenson, she says something to Cassidy and then takes the baby from his arms and returns her to the incubator. The nurse then goes to the door and looks out at the people.

"Dr. Evenson, are you going to tell him now?" she asks softly, and her eyes are tearing up a little bit.

"No," Dick says as he steps forward. "I'm going to tell him. So is their some kind of jumpsuit I'm supposed to put on before I can go in there? Cause dude, it's going to clash horribly with my hair."

The nurse looks at him in disbelief and then replies, "I'm sorry, but regulations state parents and grandparents only."

"It's okay, Marie, he's Cassidy's brother. Get him in some scrubs and let him in. He wants to be the one to tell Cassidy, and I think that might be for the best, okay?" Dr. Evenson says, and Marie gives a nod.

Dick is quickly outfitted in scrubs and then he's taken into the small room where Cassidy is sitting in the rocking chair and looking toward the area where the incubators are, a small smile on his face. He's surprised when he turns at the sound of a throat clearing and he's facing Dick.

"Dick? What are you doing in here?" he asks, and his eyes widen as he notices the solemn expression on Dick's face. "Hey, is something… What's wrong?"

Cassidy stands up and slowly approaches Dick, and Dick takes in a deep breath and says, "Cass, man, I'm so sorry. They did all they could, but I-tunes, Mac… She's gone, little bro, she's gone."

Cassidy's knees give beneath him and he falls to the floor, his palms slapping the tiles as he struggles to take in air, because it feels like he's been hit in the stomach by a raging bull. Dick kneels down and wraps his arms around his younger brother and slowly rocks him. Dick tries to say things that will help. Eventually he just settles for apologizing over and over again, for what he really doesn't know or care.

After a while, neither of them sure of how long really, Cassidy pulls back, and looks at his brother as he says, "It should have been me. I can't believe… But it's done now, and I've got a little girl to look after. Do you want to meet her? Her name is Mackenzie Cassandra Casablancas, after her mom and after me. She deserves to know everything about where she comes from, and I'm taking back my name, because it was the new name that got Cindy killed. I'll face whatever I have to, anything so that my little girl grows up safe and loved, and I'll be there for her, even though it should be Cindy here and not me."

Dick pulls his brother into another embrace and when he finally releases Cassidy he says, "It's okay, man. You'll do right by little Mac, I know you will. Now show me this amazing little girl that Uncle Dick is going to spoil rotten."

Meanwhile out in the hall, Cindy Mackenzie's parents, Kendall Casablancas, Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls, and Eli "Weevil" Navarro stand transfixed looking through the window as Cassidy takes in a deep breath, composing himself before their very eyes, and then he leads Dick to the incubator where the Banks/Mackenzie baby is dozing. They watch in surprise as Cassidy lowers his hand and gently strokes the soft, dark hair on the baby's head, and Dick stares in awe at the baby.

Cassidy looks up at his brother as the baby wakes up and opens up bright blue eyes, before she shakes her tiny fists in the air and lets everyone know that she is quite capable of getting attention. Cassidy scoops her up into his arms, mindful of her head and careful in how he holds her, because she is the single most precious thing in the world to him now. He bends down and kisses her lightly on the temple.

Dick can hardly believe that he's seeing his brother looking so natural with a baby in his arms, and he wants to ask to hold little Mac, but he's afraid he'll do something wrong, so instead he just watches, as Cassidy sways softly and the baby slowly stops crying, then Cassidy whispers, "Hey, Mackenzie, Daddy loves you, and Mommy loves you too, but she's gone to heaven for awhile, but Daddy will love you enough for the both of us. You're Daddy's little girl, yes, and Mommy is so proud. She's looking down on us right now, and smiling and laughing, because you're so pretty. You're pretty like her."

Dick can't help it as the tears come to his eyes, and for once he's not going to blame his non-existent allergies. No, he'll cry like a man, like the man he's becoming as he watches his brother hide his grief to be strong for the fragile little life tenderly held in his arms.

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Please review!


	16. EPILOGUE

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.

Epilogue:

Dick groans and makes a face as the familiar and dreaded scent reaches his nostrils. He looks at his brother and notices the small grin tugging at Cassidy's mouth as he shakes his head and says, "Ugh, dude, she's totally cute until she does this, and then, yuck."

Cassidy shakes his head and takes Mac out of his brother's arms and over to the changing table in the nursery, where he efficiently changes her diaper, and bends down and covers her face in kisses as he lifts her from the table and spins her around the room. She giggles and throws her arms out as he spins.

Once Mac is settled and Dick is busy playing Mortal Kombat on the game cube with Will watching from the couch and Sarah Harpner totally kicking his ass, he get's ready to go. He understands why Dick is hanging out with friends and getting lost in the game for once, it's because he's trying to avoid the destination that Cassidy has in mind.

Cassidy heads out to his KIA. He straps Mac into the car seat that is situated in the backseat behind the passenger's seat so that he has a clear view of her. He puts the key in the ignition and when she starts to get a little fussy he reaches back and hands her a little green bunny, the last stuffed animal that her mother picked out for her. She takes the bunny in her chubby, greedy little hands, and he continues to drive on.

It takes him all of ten minutes to get there. He pulls past the gates, and looks around. It's a bright, clear California day. He parks the SUV along the curb toward the back. He gets out of the SUV, and then goes around to gather Mac into his arms. She's trying to decide on whether she wants her fist or bunny in her mouth. Bunny wins out. Cassidy smiles and he holds her close and slowly makes his way across the bright green grass, past monument and stone after monument and stone.

Finally he stops and kneels down. He notices the fresh flowers on the stone with a smile. Apparently Natalie and Samuel have been by to visit. He sits back and spreads his legs out, and taking Mac by either hand he sets her feet down on the ground.

Distracted by this action, the bunny falls to the ground and is forgotten. She starts to take a few steps, his hands on hers helping to hold her up as she teeters forward a few steps, and tears slip down his cheeks as he whispers, "Look, Cindy, she's walking now."

He then scoops Mac into his arms and sets her down on the grass when she begins to squirm and he watches her crawl toward the rosy-hued slab of marble, and his breath hitches in his throat as her tiny hand touches the cold stone, and he can hardly believe that it's been six months now.

_Cindy Mackenzie  
1988-2007  
Beloved Daughter,_  
_Friend, Fiancée,_  
_and Mother_

Meanwhile in the same cemetery, across the grounds, a woman slips out of a silver BMW convertible, her black dress hugging and accentuating every curve as she begins to walk toward a simple grey, granite stone, her hips swaying with her every step.

She stops and places the bouquet of a dozen white roses down on the corner of the stone, and closes her eyes for a moment, bracing herself. She opens her eyes as she releases her breath, and then she bends down, her fingers brushing across the stone.

She remembers telling Clarence Wiedman not to give her the details on the who and what of the body she tossed out of the window of the Neptune Grand a little over year ago. Instead she had to figure it out for herself. She bites her lip for a moment, and a small smile tugs at her mouth, a smile of irony and regret.

"Well kid, I guess I'm here a little late, but I still owe you an apology," she says, her voice laced with suppressed emotion. "I'm sorry Casey, but seeing how everything kind of worked out, I guess you didn't turn out so bad after all."

With a sigh she turns around and heads back to her car. She sits down in the driver's seat. Pulls down the sun viser, and lets out a little laugh as she realizes that her mascara is running because of her tears. Waterproof her ass. She quickly wipes away the tragic mascara stained tear trails and her eyes, before she puts on her sunglasses, puts the key in the ignition, and drives off.

End.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well I hope you've enjoyed this. I haven't seen anything like this ever done before, and I had a blast writing this story. It's also been a long journey getting it completely posted here, and for your patience I thank you all.

For the characterizations, I wanted to make Cassidy human, because essentially he's just a boy lost among the debris of his broken soul, and he's struggling to cope and keep his secrets, and I wanted to show him beyond that and to put that cunning that was alluded to in the show to good use. I just hope I did.

I would also like to mention Veronica's character briefly as her rape and her unforgiving nature have been brought up in a review or two... Veronica accepted that Duncan was the one that slept with her at Shelly Pomroy's party, and once she figured out that they didn't share DNA and she dumped Logan she hooked right back up with Duncan, forgave him and everything. Can I just say that if Cassidy had never touched her, the fact that Duncan, suspecting that she was his sister, would do that to her while she is drugged, whether he was equally incapacitated or not is JUST as unforgivable, but she did forgive him. For the sake of Mac's happiness and the baby, and the fact that she does observe that Cassidy has changed, I figured that she would at least give him a shot to prove himself, and nail his balls to the wall if he messed up.

I also know that many of you (my beta and sister included) want to smack me for this ending. It fits, I will not justify it beyond that statement.

-Cassie


End file.
